You wrote him off, but he didn’t write back.
Geno Smith is, finally, getting another chance to start for an NFL franchise, and, boy, is he making the most of it.
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Coach Pete Carroll anointed the Seahawks’ longtime backup as the team’s starter following the offseason trade of Russell Wilson, and so far, Smith has richly rewarded the team’s faith in him. With 15 touchdowns to four interceptions and 2,199 passing yards through nine games, Smith isn’t just having a career year — he’s having a career revival.
Smith took the field again in 2021, re-debuting with the Seahawks in relief of an injured Wilson. Smith’s return to the field was a roller coaster — a true microcosm of his NFL tenure.
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In all, the former West Virginia passer has had a less-than-successful career, but he has settled in nicely with the Seahawks after wandering a few seasons with the Giants and Chargers. He has flipped the NFL world on its head with his performance in 2022 — and he has flipped the script on who he is as a passer.
Here’s everything you need to know about “The 7God’s” now-lengthy NFL career:
Geno Smith career timeline
April 26, 2013: Geno Smith is the second quarterback off the board in the 2013 NFL Draft, going to the Jets with 39th overall pick. The selection signals the eventual end of the Mark Sanchez era, which produced AFC championship game appearances in 2009 and 2010.
Sept. 9, 2013: Smith gets his first career start while Sanchez rehabs a shoulder injury he suffered during the preseason. Sanchez would later undergo surgery and miss the entire 2013 season, ending his career with the Jets.
Smith throws a touchdown to Kellen Winslow II and an interception, and a Nick Folk kick with time expiring gives the Jets the victory over the Buccaneers — and Smith the first win of his career. It also gives the NFL world this iconic moment, now in Gif form:
Oct. 20, 2013: G-G-G-Geno and the Jets do the unthinkable: The rookie QB leads the Jets to on overtime win over the Patriots, joining just Sanchez, Colt McCoy and Ben Roethlisberger as rookie QBs to beat Bill Belichick. It’s just over a week until Halloween. Spooky things are happening.
Oct. 5, 2014: Smith’s up-and-down results with the Jets are largely the result of mediocre supporting casts and a lame-duck head coach (Rex Ryan), but the Jets reach a low point in the era when they’re blown out by the Chargers 31-0.
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There’s also a new twist in the Geno drama: Prior to the game, Smith misses a team meeting thanks to the change in time zone, which confused him. Talk about poor clock management.
Aug. 11, 2015: After a pair of middling seasons as starter, the beginning of the end of the Smith era starts with a punch. Defensive lineman IK Enemkpali punches Smith square in the jaw, breaking it and sidelining Smith for six to 10 weeks. In his stead, Ryan Fitzpatrick starts and proceeds to have the most prolific passing season in Jets history.
The altercation is believed to have happened over a $600 plane ticket for Smith to attend a football camp. Smith did not attend because of the death of a close personal friend. Enemkpali felt Smith owed him the money.
Oct. 23, 2016: In his last appearance for the Jets, Smith is named the starter after poor performances by Fitzpatrick. The Jets beat the Ravens 24-16 in the Week 7 game, with Smith throwing a touchdown pass.
Unfortunately for Smith, he would leave the game after suffering a knee injury that turned out to be a torn ACL. He would miss the remainder of the season.
March 28, 2017: Smith isn’t done taking bites out of the Big Apple. He makes a crosstown move to the Giants, signing to fill out Big Blue’s QB room. He competes with third-round pick Davis Webb for snaps and eventually is named QB2 behind Eli Manning.
Dec. 12, 2017: Amid organizational drama surrounding a struggling Manning, head coach Ben McAdoo names Smith the starter for the Week 13 game vs. the Raiders. Smith’s starts snaps Manning’s streak of 210 consecutive games as a starter.
The start is historic in another way: With Smith getting the call, the Giants are the final remaining NFL team to start a Black quarterback.
Smith finishes with 212 yards and a touchdown, but his two first-half fumbles doom the Giants in a 24-17 loss. It would be his last appearance for New York, both team and city.
April 1, 2018: Go west, young man: Smith ditches the East Coast and signs with the Chargers to back up Philip Rivers. He would appear in five games for them in a relief role.
May 15, 2019: Smith signs a one-year deal with the Seahawks and earns the backup job behind Russell Wilson. He would re-sign with the Seahawks in 2020 and 2021.
Dec. 13, 2020: The long-awaited Geno Smith revenge game: After not appearing in a game in over a year, Smith takes snaps in relief of Wilson. The Seahawks trounce the Adam Gase Jets 40-3, and Smith completes 4 of 5 passes for 33 yards in the victory.
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Oct. 10, 2021: Smith gets another opportunity, this time for longer than a series. After Wilson exits with a finger injury, Smith electrifies the Seattle offense. He throws a touchdown against the vaunted Rams defense. He also throws a game-ending INT, but his receiver fell on his route. Fans get the full Geno Smith Experience.
Oct. 17, 2021: For the first time in four years, Smith gets an opportunity to start for an NFL franchise, facing the Steelers in on “Sunday Night Football.” What a time to be alive. Smith goes 23 of 32 for 203 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort.
Oct. 31, 2021: Another first: For the first time since he was a member of the Jets in 2016, Smith starts and wins a game. The Seahawks top the Jaguars 31-7. It would be Smith’s last start of 2021 season as Wilson returns the next week.
March 16, 2022: A year after a schism between Wilson and the Seahawks formed, Seattle trades the passer to the Broncos for a package of draft picks and players, including quarterback Drew Lock.
April 19, 2022: The Seahawks announce that they have re-signed Smith, bringing him back for a fourth season — and perhaps setting him up for a QB competition with Lock.
April 28-30, 2022: The 2022 NFL Draft comes and goes, and the Seahawks surprisingly pass on taking a quarterback. While the draft is QB-thin, several intriguing passers are on the board, including Matt Corral, Malik Willis, Kenny Pickett and Desmond Ridder.
Aug. 27, 2022: After a training camp battle and a Lock injury, Smith is named the Week 1 starter for Seattle vs. Denver. (Coincidences do not exist, by the way.)
Pete Carroll explains that the decision to start Smith wasn’t entirely based on what Smith did in the preseason:
He’s going to start the opener, and he’s earned it, he’s won the job. With the timeframes, it got messed up for us for Drew, he just ran out of time in making his bid for it. And so yeah, I’m cool about that, so I just want to let you know, so everybody knows, do you don’t have to ask me about it anymore. In the meantime, Drew’s going to keep on battling because he can play, and he’s got all kinds of stuff in him, and I want him to be ready at a moment’s call.
Regardless, Smith was thankful for the opportunity:
You know it means a lot, it’s something that I’ve been preparing for, and the reality is that it’s just step one, it’s just the beginning and I’ve got to make sure that I’m ready to go out there and win and play 17 games and more.
While the “and more” part seemed a bit pie-in-the-sky at the time, if Smith keeps up his current pace, expect those “and more” games to take place in January.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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