Carl Banks thinks Jets fans have skipped the judge and jury parts and moved right to executioner when it comes to Geno Smith’s second go-round with the Jets.
The veteran, acquired from the Raiders this week to be Gang Green’s bridge quarterback, has been met with plenty of criticism from fans and pundits, and Banks, the former Giants linebacker, thinks it may already be too much,
“What is happening with Geno Smith as he returned and like Jets fans are just not happy with him, but some of the stuff that’s being said is if the guy has kinda — it’s not kind of — he’s redeemed his career,” Banks told co-host Bob Papa on their “Bleav in Giants” podcast this week. “He’s gone on post-Jets and and and done some good things, but boy, they are just killing him and the Jets.
“They call him a bum. He’s this, he’s that. I’m like, is this how you want to treat a guy coming in?”
Banks noted that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Jets tried to move on quickly given the “public thrashing” they were taking over the trade, which saw them ship out a 2026 sixth-round pick for Smith and a seventh-rounder.
“It wouldn’t shock me if the Jets were looking at somebody else and saying hey look this ain’t going to work out because this guy ain’t going to be welcome here,” he said.
The trade, which has since become official, brings Smith back to New York, where he has a tough past.
He was drafted by the Jets in 2013, and his legacy with the team to this point was getting his jaw broken by a teammate in a locker room fight.
One season with the Giants didn’t go better, as Smith famously started over Eli Manning in Week 13 in 2017.
He went west and revived his career with the Seahawks, making a pair of Pro Bowls and winning Comeback Player of the Year in 2022, but a trade to the Raiders saw all of that goodwill come undone in a disastrous season in which he threw a league-high 17 interceptions over 15 games.
Banks seemed to think he’s still the right guy for the job, even if Smith is getting all the doubts with zero benefits.
“Listen, Geno, one thing I give him credit for, he committed to being a good quarterback and, you know, that was a that was an issue when he was with the Giants that, okay, was his commitment fully there? That’s long gone and behind him,” he said to Papa. “Like you said, he has proven he’s dedicated himself to being a good quarterback and he’s proven that he could be a NFL quarterback in this league. But boy, it’s that’s a tough situation to walk back into, when you’re your team and your fans don’t want you. How how is that even tenable?
“And then it just brings up or it flashes back to all the feelings he had when he left the place, you know, and that’s that’s tough. I don’t think he deserves that. I don’t. And I think if he shows up for the Jets and, you know, he’s getting this type of unwelcoming, it’s going to be a tough place to start.”
For a franchise starved for competent quarterback play while eagerly awaiting the passer-rich 2027 draft, getting a battle-tested veteran should be a win for everyone.
Smith has the added pressure of overcoming his ghosts in New York.
“It’s not an easy place to play,” Banks said. “The Jets are not a good football team. That’s why they need, you know players and they’re trying to get players, but you address the most important position and he’s starting, you know, with a big anvil just inches from his head ready to drop on it from this fanbase and it’s just … oof.”
