The New York Jets drafted quarterback Geno Smith with their second round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. Many expected him to become the franchise quarterback, but there were others who expected him to be a bust. Smith’s first season was a disappointment, and the Jets aren’t prepared to name Smith as the starting quarterback for next season.
Through 16 games with New York this past season, Smith threw for 3,046 yards and 12 touchdowns. The most disappointing stat of the season for Smith was the 21 interceptions that he threw. It didn’t seem like he had the confidence in his passes, and when he did he threw extremely questionable passes into coverage that he shouldn’t have even considered.
“We’re all excited about having Geno as part of the Jets, but we will always look to improve every position in any manner we can and that doesn’t change going into 2014. We’ll look at quarterbacks. Yes, we’ll look at quarterbacks. He’s a very resilient young man. For him to start all 16 games, go through the highs and lows of an NFL season and just to see him develop as a player, see him handle a game, see him be more efficient in the pocket, his accuracy, threatening with his legs, all of the things that he did, they were very positive.” John Idzik, New York Jets GM
The Jets were forced to start Geno Smith this season after Mark Sanchez went down with injury. Prior to the injury, the Jets were expected to start Sanchez and allow Smith the chance to sit for a full season to learn from the bench. It will be interesting to see what New York ends up doing, but Geno Smith will have to fight to earn his starting spot back in 2014.
Evan Massey is a Staff Writer for The Inscriber. Follow Evan on Twitter at @Massey_Evan.