\u201cI just feel like he\u2019s the guy that\u2019s going to lead us to the promised land,\u201d Glenn said.<\/p>\n
What the promised land is can be open to interpretation, but it seems like big talk for a coach coming off a 3-14 season and a quarterback who led the NFL with 17 interceptions last season while with the Raiders.<\/p>\n
Glenn said he believes the Jets can help Smith be more successful than he was last year in Las Vegas because of what they have on offense. Glenn pointed to their offensive line, their running game and star receiver Garrett Wilson as elements that can help Smith be successful.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something about a quarterback with a chip on his shoulder,\u201d Glenn said. \u201cHe\u2019s proven a lot in this league, especially when you take the time when he was in Seattle. He fits exactly what we\u2019re trying to do. \u2026 I think he\u2019s a perfect guy to do exactly what we\u2019re going to do, especially when we can run the ball the way that we can run it. Now, be able to add some play action. I think he\u2019s perfect for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Geno](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/10-20-16-new-york-26429676.jpg\")
Geno Smith with the Jets in 2016. Charles Wenzelberg\/New York Post<\/p>\n
Smith had strong seasons with the Seahawks in 2022 and 2023 but has regressed statistically since then. Last year with the Raiders he had 19 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He was sacked a league-high 55 times behind a bad Raiders offensive line. The Jets shipped a 2026 sixth-round pick to Vegas in exchange for Smith and a 2027 seventh-rounder. They are paying him only $3.3 million, with the Raiders paying the rest of his $18.5 million<\/p>\n
\u201cI know he had his struggles and I think a lot of quarterbacks, they have their struggles,\u201d Glenn said. \u201cIf you look at over the last five years the guys who have thrown the most interceptions, I mean the top guys are up there. I do know this. He understands exactly what happened last year. I don\u2019t want to get too far into that because I wasn\u2019t there, obviously, with the Raiders. There\u2019s some things that he knows he can play and he has he\u2019s at fault from some of those but there\u2019s some things that he knows he\u2019s going to get better at and I look forward to him doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is a return for Smith to the team that drafted him in the second round in 2013. His first stint with the Jets is not remembered fondly by fans and there has been a negative reaction to the team bringing Smith back. Glenn said they did consider Smith\u2019s history with the Jets before making the trade.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose things you always weigh,\u201d Glenn said. \u201cTo me at the end of the day I didn\u2019t think it would be a detriment to us as an organization, to the fans. Obviously there\u2019s some fans that probably didn\u2019t like it and I understand, but I know there\u2019s some fans that did like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Jets](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/new-york-jets-coach-aaron-122126871.jpg\")
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn at the NFL combine on Feb. 24, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n
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Glenn said he appreciates that Smith wants to be with the Jets.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a fresh start and I look forward to what he\u2019s going to offer,\u201d Glenn said. \u201cBecause he really, really wants this. And just going through the process of getting the quarterback, that was something that stood out. He wants to be here. And when you have guys that really want to be here, want to be Jets, that only makes it better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some view Smith\u2019s struggles with the Raiders last year as a product of playing behind a terrible offensive line. He was under constant pressure and struggled with it. The Jets have used their last two first-round picks on tackles Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou and feel good about their line giving Smith time.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do have a good line. I look forward to seeing him operate behind that line,\u201d Glenn said. \u201cI really do. I think he\u2019s going to create some damage because of the arm talent and man, he\u2019s grown so much as far as his smarts, as far as IDs, as far as protection and things like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou watch him and you see that man, he\u2019s controlling everything. And that was the one thing that really stuck out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX \u2014 Aaron Glenn has some lofty expectations for Geno Smith. The Jets coach spoke at the NFL\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":846736,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2051],"tags":[1585,7,1507,226,1917,255,2321,2097,6,9],"class_list":{"0":"post-846735","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-jets","8":"tag-aaron-glenn","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-geno-smith","11":"tag-jets","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-jets","14":"tag-newyork","15":"tag-newyorkjets","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116328666268777261","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}