Geno Smith returns to Jets in trade with Raiders, source says
New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith in 2014. Credit: AP/Lynne Sladky
The Jets have their new quarterback. It’s their old quarterback.
Geno Smith is returning to the Jets, the team that drafted him in the second round in 2013.
The Jets reached a deal to acquire Smith from Las Vegas on Tuesday, a league source said. The Jets will send Las Vegas a 2026 sixth-round pick for Smith and a seventh-rounder.
The trade can’t be processed until the start of the new league year on Wednesday, which was when the Jets’ search for a quarterback was expected to heat up. But general manager Darren Mougey was proactive and got a deal done for Smith, who played for the Jets from 2013-16.
The Raiders were going to waive Smith on Wednesday, making him a free agent. They have the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft and will take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The Jets didn’t let Smith, 35, get to free agency and give another quarterback-needy team the opportunity to sign him.
To facilitate the trade, Smith agreed to restructure his contract, the source said. Smith was owed $18.5 million guaranteed this season. Las Vegas will incur most of the salary and the Jets will pay Smith just over the veteran’s minimum of $1.3 million. Smith was in the Jets' facility on Tuesday to take his physical.
The Jets needed to address the quarterback position and give new coordinator Frank Reich someone to lead the offense. Justin Fields, whom the Jets signed to a two-year free-agent deal last year, is still under contract but is expected to be released in the coming days.
Smith likely will be a one-year bridge quarterback. The Jets have three first-round picks next year. They could find their long-term quarterback answer in the 2027 draft.
The Jets aren’t done at quarterback. They will also sign a veteran backup — perhaps Carson Wentz, who played for Reich in Philadelphia and Carolina — and draft one this year. Smith joins a Jets’ quarterback room that currently consists of Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe. Veteran Tyrod Taylor, who started four games for the Jets last year, is a free agent.
Smith spent his first four NFL seasons with the Jets from 2013-16. He started 29 games his first two years with the Jets and led them to an 11-18 record in those games. Smith started just one game his last two seasons with the Jets.
He was sidelined with a fractured jaw in 2015 after a locker room altercation with former Jets teammate IK Enemkpali. Ryan Fitzpatrick was the Jets’ starting quarterback. The following season, Smith tore his ACL in his only start in place of Fitzpatrick.
Smith threw for 5,962 yards, 28 touchdowns and 36 interceptions in 33 games with the Jets. The Jets did not re-sign Smith after his contract ran out.
Smith also played for the Giants, Chargers, Seahawks and then the Raiders last season. He made two Pro Bowls with Seattle. Smith threw 19 touchdowns and a league-high 17 interceptions for Las Vegas last season.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
