Geno Smith returns to MetLife Stadium on Monday night, going back to where he started his NFL career.
After Smith’s four seasons with the Jets came and went, however, he stayed right in East Rutherford for one more year. Smith joined the Giants, taking on a backup role behind Eli Manning.
Smith’s stint with the Giants was brief but memorable for one reason: He slid into the starting role for New York when Manning was controversially benched. Still, Smith didn’t stick with the Giants and later wound up rebuilding his value with the Seahawks. Can he leave New York with a prime-time win in hand?
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Here’s what you need to know about why Smith left the Giants after the 2017 season.
Why did Geno Smith leave the Giants?
Smith signed with the Giants after his rookie contract with the Jets ended, ensuring he wouldn’t have to endure a change of scenery. Smith’s only season with the Giants began quietly on the bench behind Manning.
New York was a colossal disappointment, starting 0-5 despite having made the playoffs a season earlier. The Giants suspended three different defensive backs — Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Janoris Jenkins and Eli Apple — for disciplinary reasons in what quickly became a lost season. Despite the on-field embarrassment, the Giants announced in November that coach Ben McAdoo would stay on through the rest of the season.
A saga that Smith simply got caught in the middle of might have changed ownership’s mind. McAdoo benched Manning with the team 2-9, ending the veteran’s streak of 210 consecutive starts. Smith was named the Giants’ starter.
Many fans saw the decision as an insult to Manning, considering the playoffs were out of reach and Smith wasn’t a potential successor to the veteran. Smith started against the Raiders, lost, and was promptly replaced by Manning after McAdoo was fired the following day.
Giants GM Jerry Reese was also let go, so Smith had no ties to the Giants’ new regime of GM Dave Gettleman and coach Pat Shurmur once his contract ended after the season. Smith instead latched on with the Chargers, taking over as the backup to the durable Philip Rivers, while the Giants showed no interest in moving on from Manning and rolled with rookie Kyle Lauletta as his backup.
As it turns out, a viable starting option was on their roster all along in 2017. McAdoo might be ever so slightly vindicated by the way Smith is playing in Seattle.
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Geno Smith career timeline
2013 – 2016: New York Jets
Smith was drafted 39th overall by the Jets in 2013. While he entered training camp as Mark Sanchez’s backup as a rookie, Sanchez suffered a shoulder injury before the season and gave way to Smith. Despite throwing nine more interceptions than touchdowns as a rookie, the Jets finished 8-8 and Smith entered 2014 with the starting job.
Smith showed some progress in 2014 despite a poor record, cutting down on turnovers, and new Jets coach Todd Bowles made him the frontrunner to start entering training camp in 2015. Those plans were quickly erased when Smith was punched by teammate IK Enemkpali, and Ryan Fitzpatrick played well enough to keep the job for the entire season.
Smith replaced a benched Fitzpatrick in October 2016, only to tear his ACL in his first and only start of the season.
2017: New York Giants
Smith signed a one-year contract with the Giants in 2017 and served as Manning’s backup for most of the season. Smith started one game after Manning was controversially benched, and he moved on from the team in the offseason.
2018: Los Angeles Chargers
Smith inked a one-year deal with the Chargers after his season with the Giants, but he only threw four regular-season passes behind the durable Rivers.
2019 – present: Seattle Seahawks
Despite making a combined two starts from 2015-2018, the Seahawks showed interest in Smith and signed him in May of 2019. Smith would serve as Russell Wilson’s backup for three seasons, not seeing a start until Wilson suffered an injury in early 2021.
He was serviceable, throwing only one interception in three starts, and Pete Carroll gave him the opportunity to compete with Drew Lock for the team’s starting job when Wilson was traded in 2022.
Smith won the job, and the rest is history. He earned Comeback Player of the Year honors after leading the Seahawks to the playoffs and signed a three-year, $105 million contract to return to Seattle for 2023 and beyond.
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