Jets head coach Aaron Glenn has high hopes, you might even say of Biblical proportions, for Geno Smith in his second act with the Green & White.
"I just feel like he's the guy that's going to lead us to the Promised Land," Glenn said at the Annual League Meeting in Phoenix, AZ, on Tuesday.
He added: "Listen, he has a fresh start and I look forward to the way he's been operating, I do, because he really, really wants this. And just going through the process of getting the quarterback, that was something that stood out to me about him. He wants to be here. And when you have guys that really want to be here, want to be Jets, that only makes it better."
Smith's history with the Jets has been well documented. There's little reason to rehash, other than to say the second round draft pick in 2013 had a couple of productive seasons before a pair spent as a backup. Then he bounced around the league, playing very little before being reborn with Seattle. Over the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Seahawks, he passed for 7,906 yards and 50 touchdowns. Last season, with Las Vegas when he threw an NFL-high 17 interceptions, came while he was playing behind a shaky offensive line (he was sacked 55 times, tied for the most in the league) as the Raiders finished with a 3-14 record, identical to the Jets' mark under Glenn, a first-year coach.
"When it comes to Geno being successful it's like, how do you protect the quarterbacks?" Glenn said. "You allow him to be able to do that? And we do have a good line, we do, and we're steadily bringing guys in that can help in that aspect, unless somebody goes down. So listen, I look forward to seeing him operate behind that line. I really do.
"But I think he's going to create some damage because of the arm talent. And man, he's grown so much as far as his smarts, as far as IDs, as far as protection and things like that. And I knew that playing against him. You know when he was in Seattle, because you watch him and you see the man, he's controlling everything. And that was the one thing that really stuck out."
After being acquired from the Raiders along with a seventh-round pick in April's draft, Glenn believes that a sturdy offensive line, WRs like Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell (plus any possible reinforcements), RB Breece Hall and TEs Mason Taylor and Jeremy Ruckert present Smith and the offense with the necessary firepower.
"There's something about a quarterback with a chip on his shoulder," Glenn said. "He's proven a lot in this league, especially when you take the time when he was in Seattle. He fits exactly what we're trying to do. ... I think he's a perfect guy to do exactly what we're going to do, especially when we can run the ball the way that we can run it. Now, be able to add some play action. I think he's perfect for that."
