New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith has a chance to make history in 2026.
Grant Gordon of the NFL Media Group listed Smith as one of the top 10 contenders for the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award ahead of the season.
“Gotham’s prodigal son has returned. Eleven years ago, a Jets teammate broke Smith’s jaw in a locker room donnybrook. He played his last game for the team that selected him in the second round of the 2013 draft a season later. He was written off, but, as he memorably quipped years later, he didn’t write back. Smith resurrected his career with the Seahawks, going to a pair of Pro Bowls and winning [the] 2022 Comeback Player of the Year,” Gordon wrote.
“Smith’s winding road led him to the Raiders, but 2025 was a calamity. Vegas won three games. Pete Carroll, Smith’s career-saving grace, was fired after the season, and Smith was traded. In theatre that only the Jets — and New York — can produce, Smith was sent back to his original squad, with Aaron Glenn quickly proclaiming him the starter. Is there another comeback in Geno? If there is, oh, what a story it will make,” Gordon explained.
“Should Smith win CPOTY, he would become only the third player to ever win the award twice, joining the Bengals’ Joe Burrow and Chad Pennington, who won it with the Miami Dolphins in 2008 and the Jets in 2006,” Gordon revealed.
Is He Even Eligible to Make This History?
Smith’s return to the Jets after everything is crazy. The former West Virginia product is wearing the same No. 7 jersey he trotted out in as a 23-year-old kid in 2013.
To have your jaw broken and your NFL career essentially over, to resurrect everything with the Seahawks, to fall with the Raiders, and to potentially rise back up with the Jets would be an incredible story. However, what exactly would he be coming back from?
Smith appeared in 15 of 17 games last season. He didn’t perform well, leading the league in interceptions (17) and being the most sacked quarterback in the league (55).
Based on the recent clarifications on the award, I’m not even sure that Smith is eligible for this honor.
“The spirit of the AP Comeback Player of the Year award is to honor a player who has demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season. The decision to provide this guidance was made last December but could not be implemented for the 2023 awards because the season was almost completed,” AP senior writer Rob Maaddi stated via CBS Sports.
A Former Jets Quarterback Broke the System
In 2023, Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco won CPOTY.
Flacco started in only five games. He spent the rest of the year on the couch at home. The year prior, he was mostly a backup player who came in for spot duty for the Jets. What did he even come back from?
That forced the AP to clarify the rules of the award.
Whether Smith is eligible for this award or not, it doesn’t take away from this incredible comeback story. He has returned to the place where it all started. At 35 years of age, Smith isn’t here for a long time, but he is here for a good time.
The Jets are an afterthought for the 2026 season. Perhaps Smith can help this team surprise a few people. If he can, Jets fans will forever sing songs about him at their local watering holes.
Jets QB Geno Smith Could Make History With Special NFL Honor