Quarterback Geno Smith is back with the Jets, older, wiser and "very grateful." That's what he told reporters at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center on Thursday during Phase 3 of the Jets' offseason program.

With 12 years in the NFL under his belt, including his first 4 seasons with the Green & White, Smith, 35, said he relishes the opportunity to help HC Aaron Glenn transform a team that hasn't tasted long-term success since Smith's first go-round here.

"I mean, that'd be like a story in a movie, right?" Smith said. "I mean, it's kind of like one of those superhero movies. But you know, my life is based on reality, and we got to focus on getting better every single day. God has blessed me to play in the league this long and to have an opportunity to come back here. I'm very, very grateful for that, because they don't come too often, these opportunities, you have to cherish them. And that's the way I look at it ... I really cherish this opportunity, I really look forward to again just going to practice tomorrow and trying to get better, and that's the way I'm going to treat this entire year, and the rest of my career."

Smith was the Jets' second-round draft pick in 2013 and had a couple of productive seasons before a pair spent as a backup. 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.

"If you watch him in the huddle, you'll see he commands the huddle very well," Glenn said on Thursday. "He makes sure that everybody knows exactly what's going on when it comes to the play call, and then once he breaks the huddle, he makes sure everybody explodes out of huddle and gets lined up. Then his ability to see exactly what's going on and try to make the play calls with his protection calls and things like that. He's very commanding."

Before he re-signed with the Jets, RB Breece Hall and Smith spent time together working out in Florida.

"I went to where Breece was at the minute I knew I was going to be here," Smith said. "It was extremely important for me to get to know him off the field, and that goes for all of my teammates as well. To get to know these guys off the field so we can develop that bond and that trust when we step on the field. We all understand that we're playing for one another. Breece is a great guy, I got that feeling from the first moment I met him, but he's also a great player, and so again, I want to try and bring out the best in him, and I know he's going to push me as well."

It's early, with mandatory minicamp to come in mid-June before the players disperse ahead of training camp in late July. With some new players on offense, a group that includes WR Omar Cooper Jr. and TE Kenyon Sadiq, Smith said he's excited by the unit's potential under the steady hand of OC Frank Reich. Smith said that Reich has done "a phenomenal job" and is "very meticulous in what he wants from us."

He added: "I see a lot of potential in this team. I think AG is doing a great job at showing us the vision of what he wants for the team and how he wants us to go out there and play and be Jets. For me, as the quarterback of the team, I know that there's a lot of work to be put in, and so I try to focus on the day to day, just getting better, leading the guys, bringing that energy, that juice to the practice field, so that we can all go out there and execute the plays we need to. And then, as the days go by just continuing to get better and continue to compete. I mean, that's really all it's about."