Geno Smith Will Play

Good morning 🇮🇹 ☕

Today is our last day away before we head home to blighty tomorrow. It's supposed to rain and thunder all day, and after not seeing much rain for around 3 months now, I'm quite excited. That's the Englishman in me talking.

Tonight the Jets are back in action against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Aaron Rodgers won't be playing but Geno Smith will, at least according to Connor Hughes. Geno has been struggling with an ankle injury and his status was questionable, but considering he's new to the team and has experienced a number of below par performances in camp, getting some live game reps will be important for team chemistry.

For all those hoping that Woody Johnson will stay out of Mougey’s way, it was announced yesterday that the Jets owner had bought a stake in Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team and will join the team's board as Vice Chairman. I neither like nor watch F1 (or any Motorsport), but hopefully that new venture will deter him from interfering in front office decisions.

In a minor roster update, we've signed WR Junior Bergen and waived/injured WR DT Sheffield.

From the official website:

Bergen (5-9, 184), a seventh-round pick (No. 252 overall) of the San Francisco 49ers in 2025, played four seasons at Montana (2021-24) and tied for the most punt return touchdowns in FCS history with eight. He also established the Montana record for average yards per punt return at 16.71. An all-purpose player in college, Bergen had 145 receptions, 1,777 receiving yards and 13 TDs plus 139 rush attempts, 577 yards on the ground and 4 TDs. He spent time on the San Francisco's practice squad last season and signed a reserve/futures contract with the 49ers in January.

I didn't mind the acquisition of Geno Smith at the cost. 2026 was all about waiting for that QB class of 2027 anyway. I knew he'd throw interceptions but was hopeful that he'd also bring some entertainment with some deep shots. So far in camp it's been Cade Klubnik bringing the entertainment, and Geno has (recently) been struggling to put complete practices together.

You never read too much into pre-season games but it would be good for Geno, good for the Jets and good for the fans to see the QB1 put a couple of good drives together.

It'll also help control the narrative around the QB position. Geno is the starter and will remain the starter as long as he's healthy. But there is some fan momentum behind Cade right now and while I really like what Klubnik is doing, I'm not sure having certain fans call for him to start out of the gate is overly helpful for the Jets.

In an ideal world we get a couple of good drives from Geno and then Cade takes over and continues his development and puts on a show.

Right now Isaiah Williams is ahead of Omar Cooper Jr on the depth chart. That's really not something to be concerned about considering how well Williams has played in camp this year. Omar Cooper has made a few plays in camp but because David Bailey has been so good, his progress gets a little lost in the shuffle.

It's probably not being helped by how good Denzel Boston is looking in Cleveland or how good Germie Bernard is looking in Pittsburgh. We'll get to see the latter tonight and with both of those guys having been selected after him, it's near impossible to avoid the comparisons.

I don't have any concerns about Omar Cooper Jr, but a good showing will go a long way tonight.

On that front, after a difficult first practice Arian Smith has bounced back in a big way. He's formed a nice connection with Cade Klubnik and there is barely a practice that passes without Smith bringing in a deep ball.

Part of Smith's appeal was his deep speed, the question was whether his hands were good enough. We're starting to see real progress with those hands, but he needs to translate what happens on the practice field to a live game situation.

The good thing about tonight is that if Geno Smith plays, Cade will be running witb the two’s, meaning guys like Smith who are down on the depth chart get to work witb him instead of Bailey Zappe. That can only be a good thing for someone like Smith.

The starters should play more tonight which will give us more insight on how this is going to look, especially with Ossai coming off PUP, the hope is that he will play tonight, alongside Will McDonald and David Bailey. Kingsley Enagbare also returned to practice two days ago so he should be good to go tonight and while he's not part of the defensive edge rotation, T’Vondre Sweat will impact the space available for that pass rush.

I'm pretty excited to see this front as it was designed with Sweat and Ossai back in action.