Geno Smith is set to rewrite the record books in New York Jets franchise history.
The former West Virginia product spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Jets. This offseason, he was traded back to New York from the Las Vegas Raiders.
Smith, 35, will turn 36 during the 2026 season. He currently sits at No. 11 on the Jets’ all-time passing yardage list. If he stays healthy, Smith will surge up that list.
All that separates Smith from No. 11 on the list to No. 7 on that list is 2,516 passing yards. Every season that Smith has started at least 13 games, he has surpassed that total (six times).
Looking at the Quarterbacks That Smith Is Set to Surpass
Here are the four quarterbacks that Smith is set to pass on the Jets all time passing yardage list:
- Zach Wilson (6,293 passing yards)
- Ryan Fitzpatrick (6,615 passing yards)
- Sam Darnold (8,097 passing yards)
- Boomer Esiason (8,478 passing yards)
That is the highest that Smith can rise this season. After Esiason is Mark Sanchez who has 12,092 passing yards.
For Smith to surpass Sanchez, he would have to finish the 2026 season with 6,131 passing yards.
Peyton Manning holds the record for the most passing yards in a single season with 5,477 in 2013. Smith would need 654 more passing yards than the record. Safe to say that isn’t going to happen.
More History Down the Line
We don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but if Smith sticks around in 2027, he could do even more damage.
Smith only has one-year left on the reworked $3.3 million contract he agreed to this offseason.
Head coach Aaron Glenn refused to get into how long Smith will be here in New York.
“I don’t think that’s a question for me to answer because he can go out there and throw for 4,000 yards and have 30 touchdowns and no interceptions and you think we’re just going to let him go? (laughs) That just goes by year. I do know this: He’s excited about being here. He’s going to be our quarterback and I look forward to that,” Glenn said via Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic.
Let’s assume Smith just gets past Esiason this season to get to No. 7 on the Jets’ all-time passing yardage list. If he has another really respectable season in 2027 (somewhere in the 3,600 to 4,000 yard range), he could jump into the top-five on the Jets’ all-time passing yardage list:
- Mark Sanchez (12,092)
- Vinny Testaverde (12,497)
What Kind of Smith Are the Jets Going to Get?
All of this record talk begs the question, will the real version of Geno Smith please stand up?
The veteran passer became a full-time starter in the NFL again in 2022. Across his three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Smith was a top-10 quarterback in all of the major passing categories.
This past season with the Raiders, Smith led the league in interceptions and was the most sacked quarterback in football.
Did Geno fall off a cliff, and is it a sign of things to come? Or was that a random blip on the radar, and he will put up the same Seahawks numbers he did in three out of the last four years?
NFL Network’s Judy Battista blamed the Raiders for a large chunk of Smith’s issues last season during an interview with me on “Boy Green Daily.” Former NFL scout Bucky Brooks shared a similar stance during our interview on my podcast.
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