As QB Geno Smith pondered his next move after his one season in Las Vegas, his phone pinged with a message from one of his former teammates on the Jets.
"Demario Davis hit me with a text and was like, 'Hey, man, let's do it,' " Smith said. "That was kind of all the confirmation I needed. So, we decided to make it happen. Obviously very honored for the team to even want me to be the quarterback again. So I'm looking forward to the opportunity, and extremely excited. My family's extremely excited to be back in Florham Park."
Davis, who signed in free agency in his third go-round with the Jets, joined the team one season before Smith was selected in the second round (No. 98 overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. Smith's return to the Jets after stops with the Giants, the Chargers, a career-defining time with the Seahawks and a tough season with the Raiders was pushed over the finish line after a chat with HC Aaron Glenn.
"Just talking to AG and hearing his plan for the team and how he was going to lead it, and what his plan and my role was with the team, I was pretty sold on it," Smith told team reporter Eric Allen on an edition of "The Official Jets Podcast."
Smith added: "Step in, be the voice for him in the locker room. Be myself first and foremost and come in and be the leader and take over, take this thing over. He wants veteran leadership. He wants guys who played a lot of football and I can be both of those things for him. It's really simple -- go out there, be yourself, lead the team, and go out there and get it done and get wins. And he's going to be right there, having all of our backs.
"I truly believe in Coach Glenn. I think he's a special coach. I've seen him. I played against him. I know what his defense has to offer, and so I know he's going to be great on that side. And I can't wait to get back with the team and get to work."
Smith, 35, has endured an up-and-down career in the NFL. In 2013, he was the first Jets rookie to throw for 300 yards in a game, against Buffalo. In the 2014 regular-season finale against Miami, a 37-24 win on the road, he completed 20-of-25 passes for 358 yards, 3 TDs and no INTs, earning a perfect passer rating for 158.3 -- the only "perfect" game in the league that season.
After signing with the Giants, after four seasons with the Green & White (two as the starter), Smith saw the field in a total of 8 games for four teams (the Giants, the Chargers and his first two years with the Seahawks).
The passage of time and the experience of hitting the high and lows in the life of an NFL quarterback have left Smith more philosophical about his career up to this point.
"Number one as a person, I think just growth," he said. "I was, what was I like, 25 years old, maybe 26 at the time. And, that's been a whole 10 years gone by, and that's a lot of experience, and that's a lot of life lessons and different things that will kind of shape you.
"And so I've gained a ton of perspective over the course of time, and been around some great coaches, been around some great players, been on some great teams, and just being a sponge and learning, learning from all those experiences, I think has helped me get to this point. But you never want to stop learning. You never want to stop growing. And so I'm continuing to learn, and this experience as well is one that I will continue to learn from and continue to be better from. And so just as a man, I've got two kids now, I'm a lot, I'm a little bit older, but I still can move. I still can do all the things that I was doing back then as a player. Again, just the mental side of it, right?"
Check out photos of the Jets free agent additions Geno Smith and Demario Davis playing for the Green & White before their returns.
In Las Vegas last season, Smith was united with HC Pete Carroll, the man who traded Russell Wilson to Denver from Seattle, and anointed Smith the starter. It changed the trajectory of Smith's career as he played in all 17 games in 2022, had a 69.8% completion percentage (best in the league), 4,282 passing yards, 30 TDs and 11 INTs and was named the NFL Comeback Player of the League and earned a berth in the Pro Bowl.
It was a challenge with the Raiders, a team beset by injuries that finished with the same record as the Jets but landed the No. 1 selection in next month's draft -- and are expected to take Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza. Now Smith is in an old new spot, with a different group of teammates, which excites him.
"I've been watching highlights of Garrett Wilson routing dudes up," Smith said. "I'm watching Breece Hall run past defenders, and in the secondary making guys miss."
He added: "So I can't wait to get on the field with those guys. Just get the practice. Start to build this thing and continue to work alongside my teammates. The connectedness that we have and the camaraderie that we build, those are the things that are going to pay off when Sunday comes and it's a big third down, or it's a big fourth down that we got to get. Or the game's on the line, you're going to look your brothers in the eyes, and they'll know that you got them and that they got you."
