Where does Geno Smith stand with the New York Jets? That will be the biggest question the team has to answer heading into the 2015 season after two years of struggling stats on the field. Smith was originally drafted to be the next face of the franchise following the demise of Mark Sanchez, but that has yet to pan out. With Ryan Fitzpatrick now on the team, who will offensive coordinator Chan Gailey hand the ball to?
The Jets have a new coaching regime and front office staff entering 2015 that leaves no one in Smith's corner. Rex Ryan and John Idzik are gone and the quarterback's fate is now up to head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan who will make their stamp on the team immediately. They got that ball rolling when they traded from Brandon Marshall and could make even more moves in the upcoming draft. The question is whether or not that move involves a quarterback.
So far, Maccagnan has proven he is not afraid of the bold moves, signing players like Darrelle Revis to a big contract. Is Marcus Mariota the next one? ESPN's Todd McShay believes the Jets will draft Marcus Mariota with the No. 6 pick barring the Eagles or Browns trade up past them for the quarterback. The Jets could target offensive line help instead.
With Fitzpatrick on the roster, the Jets have a starting quarterback for the season opener that is not Smith. That may or may not please the fans, but there is real belief that the Jets traded for the journeyman to be their starting quarterback for all of 2015 while they decide Smith's future. There is still a lot of belief in Smith. According to wide receiver Brandon Marshall, there will be no quarterback competition for the Jets as Smith will be the No. 1 guy come the fall.
"This is pretty interesting because Geno and I, we started this weird relationship from the time he got drafted," Marshall said, via the New York Post. "He's a Florida guy. My gym. . . it's literally like three exits from him. We started this relationship, and it's pretty cool to see how it develops off the field. So now I get traded, and when this stuff starts happening, we started communicating. We both decided it would probably be cool to get together and work out for the rest of the offseason . . . and try to get other guys down so we can start building that chemistry."
Smith and Fitzpatrick will battle to start in 2015. There is no other way around it for the Jets. The question becomes whether or not a third option is thrown into the mix.
