There is a lot of uncertainty around the status of New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith.
The most recent check-in with the Davie Police Department from Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic revealed that this was an “active investigation” and that they won’t be “releasing any additional information at this time.”
With all of that up in the air, people have begun to wonder about the potential availability of Smith this season for the Jets. ESPN’s Rich Cimini addressed that on the most recent episode of the “Jets Collective” podcast.
“From a football perspective, I think Jets fans are wondering could this impact Geno’s availability. Typically, in a situation like this, even, and let me stress this hypothetically, if he were charged and this was adjudicated, it would take a long time for that process to take place. He could fall under the personal conduct policy by the NFL, but I don’t believe that would impact him for this season, that likely would be for next year,” Cimini explained.
Smith, 35, will turn 36 during the 2026 season. He is under contract for this year for $3.3 million on the Jets’ books. Smith is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
“We know how the lawyers get continuances and so on and kick the can down the road. So I would think it would likely be an impact the following season, but right now this is all we have,” Cimini added.
“I’d be very, very surprised if something impacts his availability,” Cimini later reiterated on the “Jets Collective” podcast.
A Huge Sigh of Relief
Barring something unforeseen, such as footage being released from Smith’s cameras at his home revealing new evidence that alters this case, Smith is set to start Week 1 for the Jets on the road against the Tennessee Titans.
This is the case for the Jets and likely any team in the league; if suddenly your starting quarterback were unavailable, that would place you in a very precarious position.
The Jets have three other quarterbacks on the roster who are currently battling it out to decide who the QB2 will be in 2026:
Before any of this Smith legal situation, the Jets were exploring the veteran QB market. Nothing has come of it as of yet.
Cimini asked head coach Aaron Glenn if he has seen enough from this group to feel confident one of them can back up Smith.
“We have Bailey (Zappe) who’s been around this league for a long time, he’s won some games. We have (Brady) Cook that was with us last year who’s a second-year player and he’s still developing. And then we have Cade (Klubnik) who was doing a really good job until he was out with a back and he was going to get a chance to practice today to see exactly where he was going to be at. So, I would say this, those guys are going to continue to compete. I would never sit here at this time of the year and say, ok, this guy’s going to be our backup quarterback. Guys, we have training camp to go through and I think I’ve said that before, those guys are going to compete and see who actually comes out of that fight,” Glenn said.
Arrow Is Pointing up for Smith on Football Field
The Jets are in a better place in 2026 than in 2025.
I asked Jets on SI beat reporter Nick Faria to compare what he saw in practice from Justin Fields versus Geno Smith.
“[Faria starts laughing], It sounds terrible for me to say this, and I do feel bad at just getting to this point, but this is the first thing I thought of … The Junie B. Jones book series that was read to like first and second graders around that reading level. That was essentially the Jets’ offense [last year]. The passing offense was very basic. This is the equivalent of going from that to Harry Potter or the Hunger Games or anything like that. It’s just more advanced,” Faria said on “The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital.”
This is not to say that Smith is the second coming or that he’s destined for an MVP. However, the word competency comes to mind. Smith has raised the floor of the Jets’ offense. That isn’t a sexy thing to report, but it should make the Jets a more competitive football team.
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