When QB Geno Smith left 1 Jets Drive in 2016, it was nearly impossible to conceive that he would one day walk back through those very same doors.
"I don't think anyone could have imagined that, honestly," Smith shared with reporters on Thursday. "But that's the beauty of life itself is that -- I make plans all the time, and rarely do they go exactly as I planned them."
Smith was initially selected by the Jets in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft and played for the team for four seasons. After then spending nine seasons with other organizations, Smith was acquired by the Jets on Wednesday in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders. The 35-year-old, entering his 14th season in the league, is now set to put on green and white for the first time in nearly a decade.
"It was so special," Smith said of returning to the Atlantic Health Training Center this week. "It really felt like all those memories just kind of rushed back into my head. Just the first time I walked into that building. And really, it looks so much the same. It just felt like I was back where I belong."
Though the facility may look the same to Smith, he stressed that he himself is not the same person -- or quarterback -- that he was when he left. Smith, who shared that "experience is going to be your best professor," has accumulated plenty in his time away from the organization. Since 2016, he has played for four different teams. Brief stints with the Giants and Chargers in 2017 and 2018 led to him eventually landing with the Seahawks, where he saw his career take off during six seasons in Seattle.
During his first year as the Seahawks' starter in 2022, Smith led the league in completion percentage (69.8) and earned both Pro Bowl and AP Comeback Player of the Year honors. His 4,282 passing yards that season were a career high at the time, but he surpassed that mark with 4,320 passing yards during the 2024 season.
"I've been to a few teams, been around some great coaches, some great players," he said. "I really feel like just everything that I've endured throughout the course of my career, as well as all the things that I've learned, has really shaped me. It's helped me grow mentally, emotionally, physically -- as well as just cerebrally as a quarterback."
Smith's final stop before his return to the Jets was in Las Vegas last season, where he faced challenges as the Raiders finished the season with a 3-14 record. For Smith, though, the hardship was an equally important part of his journey that shaped the athlete he is today. Describing himself as a natural competitor, Smith said he has arrived at each stop with a chip on his shoulder -- and returning to the Jets will be no different.
"It's probably crazy, but I love when things are kind of at its toughest," Smith said. "That's when I think I shine the brightest because I know that when my back is against the wall, I do what it takes to get it done."
And though Smith may be returning to familiar faces in familiar places, he knows there is still plenty of work to be done and things to learn as he embarks on the next step in his journey.
"I think that's what you want out of this game, you want to continue to learn and continue to get better," he said. "Hopefully I can continue to learn from the guys in Florham Park and just continue to be a sponge. I was talking to [offensive coordinator Frank Reich], and I'm just eager to be coached by him and just learn from him. … I think it's going to be special."
For Smith, being back where his career began only adds to the opportunity.
"Just to come back now, to have an opportunity to continue to play this game that I love so much, and to be part of that organization again -- the organization that gave me a chance coming out of West Virginia and really believed in me," he said. "Although it didn't go exactly as planned, somehow, someway, we got back here. And I'm eager to make things right if I can."
