After missing the preseason opener, New York Jets starting quarterback Geno Smith returned to practice this week.
Head coach Aaron Glenn was asked how beneficial it is for Smith to play in the preseason.
“Well, we will see. We will see. Every day it is a management plan for that player. I think you guys have heard me say this about all of our players: we want to make sure that we get our guys ready for Week 1. So whatever we have to do to be able to do that, that’s what we’re going to do. So if it’s playing in this game because he feels up to it, he’s ready to go, and he wants to be with the other guys, then let’s go. If it’s not the plan because we want to be cautious in that situation, then we will do that. It’s all about how he feels and then exactly how we see this going moving forward,” Glenn explained.
In the preseason opener, everyone who was healthy played in the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the Jets. Glenn said injured players are a “case-by-case basis.”
“We try to make practice as game-like as possible. I think our guys do a really good job with that, but there’s something about having however many people in these stands, where a coach is not behind you calling the plays when you’re on the field; there’s something about being able to do that live that’s just totally different from practice, so I think it’s beneficial to be able to do that … The players are all in on what we’re trying to do, so if guys are up for it, we’re playing,” Glenn confirmed.
Observations of Smith at Practice This Week
On Monday, August 17, ESPN’s Rich Cimini said on Instagram that Smith is “definitely limping a little bit on that left ankle. He had a sleeve on his lower left leg. I watched him very closely in practice, and you can see he was favoring it a little bit, but he powered through the practice. He did not miss any reps.”
However, on Tuesday, August 18, Smith no longer had the sleeve on his left leg, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post.
After practice, Smith said his ankle is “getting better every day.”
Smith Comments on Playing in the Preseason
After practice, Smith was asked if he “wants” to play in the preseason or feels like he “needs” to play in the preseason.
“I’ll leave it up to coach. My job is to get ready and help this team get ready to be ready to play Week 1. Whenever I get a chance to play, as I told you guys, I look forward to it, but I also leave that up to coach,” Smith said.
When asked for the level of importance of getting these preseason reps, Smith responded, “Every rep is important. Whether that’s in practice or a game, every rep is important, so yes, every rep is important, every chance I get to play, every chance I get to practice, every opportunity is just as important as the next, so yes, I do feel like it’s very important.”
Smith revealed that after the second and final joint practice against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had some “swelling” in his ankle.
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