Now back where his NFL began, Geno Smith is energized and motivated with high goals for his second tenure with the Jets.<\/p>\n
Days after being traded by the Raiders to the Jets<\/a>, Smith discussed his mindset about being back with the franchise that drafted him and his lofty expectations about what he hopes to achieve before ending his career.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was drafted here, my goal was to play my entire career for the Jets and one day retire as a Jet,\u201d Smith told reporters. including Al Iannazzone<\/a> of Newsday, about his career coming full circle.<\/p>\n \u201cJust to come back now and to be a part of this organization again, the organization that gave me a chance coming out of West Virginia, and really, really believed in me. Although it didn\u2019t go exactly as planned, somehow, someway, we got back here, and I\u2019m eager to kind of make things right if I can.\u201d<\/p>\n Geno Smith Headed Back to Jets After Trade with Raiders<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Add WV Sports Now as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a> You can also find us on X<\/a> and check us out on YouTube<\/a>. And don’t forget to sign-up<\/a> to get all of our articles delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n The Raiders sent Smith and a 2026 7th-round pick to the New York in exchange for a 2026 6th-round pick. Smith will try to revitalize his career as he brings his NFL career full circle.<\/p>\n He dreams of ending his career in a way that would go down as one of the greatest comeback stories in NFL history.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to go out there and give our fans something to be proud of,\u201d expressed Smith. \u201cPut a great product on field, be competitive, not just competitive, but win a lot of games, and also put ourselves in position to hoist that Lombardi at the end of the season. I know our fan base has been longing for that. If I can be the guy to get that done, that\u2019s what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n On March 6, reports began to circulate that the Raiders would release Smith<\/a> unless they could work out a trade to send him elsewhere.<\/p>\n After resurrecting his career in Seattle with the Seahawks, a rough 2024 season led to a trade to Las Vegas and then an even rougher 2025 with the Raiders has him on the move again.<\/p>\n In addition to the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl with Sam Darnold, the Raiders were 2-13 with Smith under center last season. Smith threw for 3,025 yards while competing 67.4% of his passes, but only threw two more touchdowns to interceptions \u2013 19 to 17.<\/p>\n Before being drafted in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Jets, Smith racked up 11,662 passing yards and 98 touchdowns across three years as the starting quarterback for WVU, including 42 passing touchdowns to just six interceptions during his senior year. He finished his career near the top of most statistical passing categories for the program, leading the Mountaineers to a trio of bowl games and an Orange Bowl win.<\/p>\n Smith eventually washed out of New York after two seasons as the starter, playing sparsely until 2022 when he earned the NFL\u2019s Comeback Player of the Year Award<\/a>. From there, he caught on with the Seattle Seahawks and enjoyed a career renaissance until being traded to the Raiders ahead of the 2025 season.<\/p>\n