Jets GM non-committal on Geno Smith's future in New York
Ryan Fitzpatrick has played about as well as the Jets could have hoped this season, especially given the circumstances of him taking over as the starter so suddenly. However, even with as well as he's played, he's likely not to be the Jets' quarterback for the next five season.
The same probably goes for Geno Smith, too.
Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan discussed Smith's future in New York on Wednesday, and needless to say, he didn't sound overly confident the third-year quarterback would be here much longer.
"Geno is under contract for next year," Maccagnan said via Dom Cosentino of NJ.com. "But I think we're just going to see how this thing progresses because we still have a little under half of the season left. Geno has done a good job so far, and we'll see how he progresses going forward."
Smith is indeed under contract for 2016, but the Jets can cut him and only have to eat a little over $500,000 in dead money. He has showed very little as a starting quarterback, and the fact that he has been beat out by Fitzpatrick is especially telling. And while he played decent in relief of Fitzpatrick against the Raiders, it was far from great.
"He hasn't done anything so far in the very limited amount of time we've got to see him play in a regular season game," Maccagnan said. "I think the jury is still out, not necessarily in a bad way."
What's working in Smith's favor is the fact that Fitzpatrick isn't under contract for next season. The Jets would be wise to re-up him after this season given his performance and toughness, but it's not clear if New York would take that route.
Regardless, the future doesn't look bright for Smith. A fresh start could be the best thing for him at this point, given his struggles in New York.
