The cat is out of the bag.
NFL Insider Connor Hughes of SNY revealed on X that veteran quarterback Geno Smith will start for the New York Jets in the second preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Smith’s status was up in the air after he noticed some swelling in his ankle. That prevented him from playing in the preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Head coach Aaron Glenn remained cagey this week when asked about Smith’s status for this game.
Social Media Reactions to Smith News
“Good. Let’s see Geno get 1-2 series with the starters before he likely sits in the final preseason game. Then give [Cade] Klubnik at minimum the rest of the 1st half. Would prefer more than 7 pass attempts this week,” The Jet Press posted.
“A few series in, get a good rhythm and than I’d imagine 4+ series for Klubnik and clean up duty with the remaining QBs,” NFL analyst Will Parkinson said.
“That’s huge for Jets. Starting QB is healthy enough to play,” beat reporter Nick Faria wrote.
A Fine Line
Head coach Aaron Glenn was dealing with a very fine line with this decision.
On one hand, he doesn’t want to put his starting quarterback in harm’s way, especially with him already somewhat compromised with this ankle issue.
On the other hand, he likely wants his quarterback getting as many reps with his teammate as the live bullets are flying around.
The Jets started last season 0-7. The Jets can’t afford a slow start to this season or Glenn might not make it to the end of the year.
One way a team can avoid rust is by getting reps together. In theory, if the Jets can work out the kinks during the preseason, then they should be more ready to go once the regular season arrives.
“It is, but I think the thing that we do quite a bit is make sure we have game intensity in practice, and I think our guys do a really good job of that. It’s not just with Geno (Smith), it’s any player: Breece (Hall), Garrett (Wilson), DoubleD (Demario Davis), any of those guys. As we get to the end of it, we want to make sure we make the right decision on playing the guys or not. Then sometimes, the guys want to get out there and play. I’ve never been a coach that was afraid of injuries because it’s a part of the game, but I also want to be a coach that’s smart and make sure I get out guys ready for Week 1,” Glenn responded when asked about the difficulty of the decision.
This Was the Right Decision
Clearly, this news means that Smith feels well enough to play. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be playing.
Putting health questions aside, Smith needs to get live preseason reps with these players. You don’t want that first experience to be when it counts in September.
The ultimate goal is making sure everyone comes out healthy. However, the secondary goal is making sure that the operation of the offense is sound for the green and white.
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