The Jets expect Geno Smith to start next week against the Buccaneers and are now adjusting their mind-sets he will be their starter going forward.
According to a source, the Jets’ brass was leaning toward Mark Sanchez before he injured his shoulder, but now believe they must go forward with Smith unless he is a total failure early in the season.
There have been multiple reports about Jets decision-makers preferring Smith regardless of the injury, but a source said those reports are “totally made up.”
The competition between Sanchez and Smith was close all summer, according to a person familiar with the Jets’ thinking. Smith came on strong early in training camp, but the Jets still started Sanchez in the first preseason game, an indication they were not ready to name Smith the starter. Smith injured his ankle in that game against the Lions and then regressed while dealing with the injury.
Against the Giants last week, Sanchez appeared to have won the job until he injured his shoulder in the fourth quarter when Rex Ryan inexplicably put him in the game behind the second-team offensive line.
It has become clear in the last week Sanchez is highly unlikely to play next week against the Buccaneers, according to a source. He has not been cleared to throw yet and there is a chance that clearance won’t come until next week or the week after, meaning Sanchez would not be ready to play until Week 3 against the Bills.
Inside the Jets’ sanctum, they know they cannot start Smith for one or two games and then switch to Sanchez unless the rookie is a total disaster. Therefore, the Jets’ staff is figuring Smith is going to be its long-term quarterback. But sources say that decision was brought on by Sanchez’s injury, not because the staff had a preference for Smith. Those internal conversations on who won the quarterback competition never occurred because Sanchez’s injury decided it.
If Smith is able to hold onto the job, Sanchez may have played his last game as a Jet. The team is expected to release him after this season. Sanchez will make $8.25 million — a huge sum of money to pay a backup — a number that makes him virtually untradeable.
The Jets kept Sanchez this season largely because he had such a big guaranteed salary. They signed veteran David Garrard and drafted Smith in the second round of April’s draft to compete for the starting job with Sanchez. Garrard retired in May before the competition even began.
Sanchez and Smith have gone back and forth all summer without much separation until Smith threw three interceptions in the first half against the Giants. His poor showing seemed to give Sanchez the job, but Ryan put Sanchez into the meaningless game behind a line made up of bottom-of-the-roster players. Giants defensive tackle Marvin Austin delivered a crushing hit on Sanchez, who suffered a deep shoulder bruise as well as some other damage that has not been disclosed.