With the quarterback position in flux, the New York Jets are preparing for anything. Head coach Todd Bowles has been coy about the injury status of Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick while Bryce Petty begins to take reps in practice. The Jets are not working out any quarterbacks and do not appear concerned with adding to the roster which leaves those three as their only options. According to Brandon Marshall, it is time to give Smith a second chance.
Marshall has always been a supporter of Smith. After the New York Jets traded for the wide receiver, he immediately began to workout with the quarterback before preseason training began. He was singing Smith's praises before the quarterback was sucker-punched in the preseason and was replaced by Fitzpatrick. According to Marshall, it is time to give Smith another shot at being the quarterback as Fitzpatrick deals with ligament damage in his thumb.
"Now I'm not just going to take this stance because I'm his teammate," Marshall said, via NJ.com. "But you take a kid who hasn't played all year and you throw him in that game, and look what he did. ... Can we give a kid, a young kid, a second chance?"
According to ESPN's Rich Cimini, both Smith and Fitzpatrick are listed as day-to-day and there is a large group of people that believe starting Petty against a team like the Jacksonville Jaguars could be the right move for New York. However, Cimini reports that regardless of the injuries, Fitzpatrick has been named the starter which could be a risk for the Jets. It would not only take away the risk of Smith or Fitzpatrick getting hurt even worse, but it would also give the team a better look at what they have at the quarterback position for the future.
Smith and Marshall already have chemistry built in and having the dynamic quarterback on the fields adds another fold to the offense. Things would not change much with Smith under center whereas if Petty was manning the group, they might not open the passing game up as much. Marshall likes the idea of keeping with Smith.
"When did I get here [with the Jets]?" Marshall said, via NJ.com. "April? May? Since that day, I've been a fan of Geno Smith. I'm going to stick to that. I love him. I'm proud of the kid."
The job could be Smith's considering the team is not eyeing any quarterback additions. Bowles appears to be committed to Fitzpatrick which might be hurting Smith's future in the long run. According to Cimini, the team did workout several receivers including Jarrett Boykin, Greg Salas and Damaris Johnson as the team deals with injuries to Chris Owusu and Devin Smith. They might add a playmaker, but not a quarterback.
