Quarterback Geno Smith is ready to return to the New York Jets. He hopes it is a lot much less painful than the final time he performed for the group.
On Tuesday, the Las Vegas Raiders agreed to commerce Smith and a 2026 sixth-rounder to the Jets for a 2026 seventh-rounder, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal turns into official when the brand new league 12 months begins on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.
“Full full circle second,” Smith texted Sports activities Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer after the information broke. “Wanting ahead to connecting with all my teammates and coaches and constructing a brand new relationship with the followers.”
It is shocking Smith — whom New York took with decide No. 39 within the 2013 NFL Draft — appears enthusiastic about returning to the Jets locker room, contemplating he as soon as broke his jaw there.
Revisiting Geno Smith’s Jets battle
Former Jets head coach Todd Bowles (now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) referred to as an impromptu information convention on Aug. 11, 2015, to disclose that Smith had suffered the damage in a battle with defensive lineman IK Enemkpali.
“You are going to need a tape recorder for this,” the coach mentioned, via ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
The battle stemmed from a monetary matter. Months earlier, Enemkpali had invited Smith to his youth soccer camp in Pflugerville, Texas, and paid $1,200 for his flight. The QB by no means confirmed. They then agreed to separate the associated fee, however Smith nonetheless hadn’t reimbursed him on the time of the battle.
“We get to coaching camp and IK is asking him about it,” former Jets linebacker Trevor Reilly advised Cimini for a narrative revealed in August 2020. “That day, he asks him. I used to be sitting proper there; my locker was subsequent to Geno. Geno simply sort of says, ‘Simply chill, man, neglect about it. What are you going to do if I do not pay you?'”
Smith should not have requested that. Enemkpali clocked him with an higher minimize/cross to the jaw. The QB then tackled the LB, and so they tussled earlier than teammates separated them.
“Actually, I do not even give it some thought. I do not wish to. It was unhealthy information throughout. Lives have been altered,” former Jets offensive sort out Ben Ijalana advised Cimini.
Bowles instantly minimize Enemkpali, who the Buffalo Payments then signed. He performed 11 video games in 2015 however suffered a career-ending knee damage the next season. In 2017, his comeback try with the Raiders failed. At his wedding ceremony, he advised Reilly he nonetheless regrets the battle.
The punch derailed Smith’s profession as effectively. He spent the 2015 season on the bench, regardless that he was imagined to miss simply six weeks. With Ryan Fitzpatrick as their beginning QB, the Jets went 10-6 and nearly made the playoffs.
Smith began one sport for the Jets in 2016 earlier than tearing his ACL. After New York launched him in 2017, he was a backup for the New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers earlier than reviving his profession with the Seattle Seahawks, making two Professional Bowls in three seasons because the group’s starter (2022-24).
Per Cimini, Smith took accountability for the battle in a 2016 interview with ESPN, saying it “fueled him to be a greater man.” Nonetheless, he did not converse to the beat author in 2020, and after the story was revealed, he referred to as it a “shame” on X.
Smith’s second tenure with the Jets could as soon as once more depart him blindsided… figuratively talking. The QB tossed a league-leading 17 interceptions in 2025. The Jets, in the meantime, went 3-14. As of Tuesday, FanDuel Sportsbook provides them +2000 odds to win the AFC East.
