Geno Smith Trade Grades: Tough to Tell What the Jets Are Thinking

Gang Green is bringing back its starting quarterback from more than a decade ago, while the Raiders seem to be making room for Fernando Mendoza.

Geno Smith has now played for five franchises, and he is heading back to where it all started for him. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

​​Trade grades: Michael Pittman Jr. | Rashan Gary | Minkah Fitzpatrick | Maxx Crosby | Zaire Franklin | Garrett Bradbury | DJ Moore | David Montgomery | Tytus Howard

The Jets are getting a second chance with one of their former notable quarterbacks. 

On Tuesday, the Raiders agreed to send Geno Smith and a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Jets in exchange for a ’26 sixth-round pick. Additionally, Las Vegas is paying the bulk of Smith’s salary to facilitate the trade that will send the 35-year-old signal-caller back to the team that drafted him in ’13. The move won’t be finalized until the new league year begins at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.  

Last year, the Raiders acquired Smith in a trade with the Seahawks and quickly locked him down with a two-year, $75 million contract extension. The decision backfired, however, as the team endured a dreadful three-win season. The Raiders are still on the hook for most of Smith’s $18.5 million guaranteed salary for the 2026 season, per the report from NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero, but they’ll at least get a fresh start at the position with Smith gone and possession of the No. 1 pick in April’s draft that will likely be used to select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

As for the Jets, they get a bridge quarterback while they position themselves to possibly land one of the top prospects in what is supposed to be a loaded QB draft class in 2027. New York is all about the future, but it now has an opportunity to make things right with a prominent player from the franchise’s past. 

Here are the trade grades for this deal between the Silver & Black, and Gang Green. 

Jets make strange decision to reunite with Smith

It’s tough to tell what the Jets are thinking in bringing back Smith. Yes, they needed a starter for this season, but if they’re truly all about landing a top quarterback in the 2027 draft, the team could have gone in a different direction for a temporary starter. 

Perhaps the Jets noticed that Smith’s subpar play last season with a league-high 17 interceptions helped the Raiders land the No. 1 pick and now they want the same result. (I’m only half kidding.) But say it does go poorly when it comes to wins and losses, it would be a bad look for the organization to get more disastrous results from Smith after what happened in his prior four-year stint with the team. Smith went 8–8 as a rookie, then fell to 3–10 as a starter the next year. He started one more game in the next two years after breaking his jaw when he was punched by a teammate.

As for a different thought that doesn’t involve tanking for the No. 1 pick, maybe 

the Jets just want to build a quality offense under new play-caller Frank Reich regardless of the outcomes of games, and it wouldn’t hurt to keep star receiver Garrett Wilson happy. It wasn’t that long ago that Smith delivered stellar numbers while throwing to DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba in Seattle. 

But, again, the team could have gone in a different direction, such as signing Kyler Murray, who wouldn’t have cost much because the Cardinals are paying his salary for 2026. Jimmy Garoppolo is also a free-agent quarterback. 

Who knows what the Jets are thinking, but they’re definitely in rebuild mode and Smith isn’t a long-term option. If New York gets the No. 1 pick with Smith, this trade will be a win despite the embarrassment. If Smith plays well and the team still gets the top pick, well, that would be the best outcome. Also, the team has a handful of draft picks to move up in the 2027 draft after moving Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams at last year’s trade deadline.

Grade: C+

Raiders are all in on Fernando Mendoza 

It might sound strange, but in a way, last year’s trade for Smith helped the Raiders land the No. 1 pick. If they use it on Mendoza and he turns out to be the real deal, the trade for Smith will be remembered in a positive way for years to come. 

But Las Vegas can’t get a complete pass for handing Smith a lucrative contract extension without seeing him play a game for the team. The Raiders are now paying the price for giving him guaranteed money past the 2025 season, but paying a player to play elsewhere won’t matter if Mendoza shows plenty of promise early in his career.

Perhaps the team could have held onto Smith to open the season as the starter and avoid throwing Mendoza to the wolves immediately. Also, Smith has been a backup for a large portion of his 12-year career. He knows what it’s like not to be promised games to start, to be ready at any given time and to offer assistance to younger teammates.

However, there was too much drama in Las Vegas stemming from last year’s moves that backfired. It’s understandable that the team wanted a fresh start under new head coach Klint Kubiak, and on paper, it seems they’re heading in the right direction with all the moves they made on Day 1 of free agency, including the signing of center Tyler Linderbaum. 

Aidan O’Connell, who has made 17 starts in three seasons, is now the only quarterback on the roster, so we’ll see who else gets added to the Raiders’ quarterback room, either for veteran mentorship or to possibly start a few games.

Grade: B-

---