Geno Smith Heads Back to Where He Busted

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Tue, Mar 10 2026 6:36 PM UTC

The Raiders are sending QB Geno Smith to the Jets, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. The price for his new/old team is a mere pick swap, with the Jets sending a sixth-rounder to Vegas and getting a seventh back. Smith originally went to the Jets in the second round of the 2013 draft and started 29 games across his first two years before getting benched and then banished. He spent a year with the Giants, another with the Chargers, and then six with the Seahawks. That's where he grew into a starter. But Seattle traded him after three starting seasons in favor of Sam Darnold.

2026 Fantasy Football Impact

We've all been waiting to see where Smith landed this offseason, as it's been clear that the new Raiders leadership preferred to move on and plans to draft Fernando Mendoza first overall (allegedly).

Smith stunk for the 2025 Raiders, including leading the league with 17 INTs. And that followed a 2024 in Seattle that showed some regression vs. the previous two.

He did, at least, flash for three top-13 weekly finishes and generally produce better when TE Brock Bowers was on the field. But Smith's beyond being a fantasy factor himself.

It'll take a rebound season for him to land among the top 24 QBs at the end of the year.

Other Winners & Losers

WR Garrett Wilson gets a slight win here, and he can use any help available.

Smith's clearly not the answer at QB for the Jets. But he's probably less of a blatantly wrong answer than what Justin Fields put out there last year.

Smith remained a decently accurate passer even with the Raiders, completing 67.4% of his throws. That followed a 68.5% completion rate for his time in Seattle.

So Wilson, second-year TE Mason Taylor, and imprisoned RB Breece Hall get a slight bump.

Keep offering up prayers that they get further assistance, though.

We'll see whether Fields sticks around to back Smith up or heads elsewhere.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.