Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 19

Geno Smith Rejoins Jets After March Trade for 6th-Round Pick as Ryan Fitzpatrick Backs Leadership

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 19

Geno Smith Rejoins Jets After March Trade for 6th-Round Pick as Ryan Fitzpatrick Backs Leadership

Q: With a radically revamped roster, is a 37-year-old linebacker the true missing piece to the Jets' championship puzzle?

No. Demario Davis may be an important piece of the Jets’ reset, but a 37-year-old linebacker is not the singular missing piece to a championship roster. What Davis appears to be is a culture and stability fix. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Aaron Glenn and Jets players have all pointed to the same need: professionalism, urgency and leadership on a young team coming off a 3-14 season. Davis is widely respected for exactly that, and he is still productive and remarkably durable, having missed only one game in his career while investing heavily in his conditioning. In that sense, he can help raise the floor of the defense and the locker room. But the Jets’ bigger questions are structural. They were one of the league’s worst teams last season, finishing near the bottom in scoring on both sides of the ball and becoming the first NFL team to go a full season without an interception. Their turnaround depends much more on whether Geno Smith stabilizes the offense, whether Frank Reich’s system clicks, whether Breece Hall stays healthy, and whether a rebuilt defense actually creates pressure and takeaways. Rookie edge rusher David Bailey and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick may be just as important to that equation as Davis. The evidence suggests Davis fills a major need, but not the championship void by himself. For the Jets, he is better viewed as a tone-setter on a team still trying to become competent and competitive before it can realistically be called a title contender.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 19

Geno Smith is back with the Jets after a March trade from Las Vegas for a sixth-round pick, giving New York a veteran quarterback for his second stint with the franchise.
Ryan Fitzpatrick said Smith now brings the stability, professionalism and leadership the Jets have lacked, arguing the quarterback has grown sharply since his first New York run ended after a 2015 locker-room punch saga.
Seattle reshaped Smith’s career: he became the Seahawks’ starter in 2022, won Comeback Player of the Year, made 2 Pro Bowls and threw for more than 4,300 yards in 2024 before a one-year Raiders stop.
New York is also leaning on returning linebacker Demario Davis and a retooled roster around Smith, including Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall and new coordinator Frank Reich, as coach Aaron Glenn tries to change the team’s culture.