The New York Jets are getting the kind of Geno Smith buzz that can make a training camp feel like a revelation. The problem for Jets fans is that Las Vegas Raiders fans have already seen this movie.
At Jets camp, the praise has come fast and loud: “Geno Smith looks really good.” “Great day from Geno Smith.”
“Geno’s aggressive - fun to watch.” Those are the kinds of lines that build momentum in July and August.
They also sound awfully familiar to anyone who watched Smith’s run with the Raiders last year.
Smith had a strong preseason for Las Vegas, and he even opened the 2025 season with a road win over the eventual AFC champion New England Patriots. But the season that followed was a mess, and that part of the story matters just as much as the summer hype.
So when New York reporters start leaning into the excitement around Smith, Raiders fans have every reason to roll their eyes. They watched the same buildup turn into a rough year, and they know camp production does not always carry over once the games count.
That skepticism only gets sharper when the glowing practice notes start sounding like proof. One report described Smith as “Great day from Geno Smith.
Deadly accurate in the red zone and had multiple scores because of it.” Another said, “Geno went 3/3 with two TDs in team drills from the 25 and inward.”
But the actual season told a very different story. Smith’s 2025 year featured only two great days, and it was hardly a model of red-zone precision. He threw a league-worst 17 interceptions despite missing two games, and the Raiders finished 22nd in red zone touchdown efficiency.
The same pattern shows up in the chatter about his aggressiveness. “Think you’re gonna see a lot of that from Geno this year - shots.
Nice change after back-to-back years of the QB playing so passive.” Another practice note put it this way: “Geno’s aggressive - fun to watch.
Still throws such a pretty spiral. The TDs to Garrett Wilson, AD Mitchell had great touch.”
That kind of approach can look electric in camp. It can also get messy in a hurry when the ball is forced into tight windows.
Smith had 18 turnover-worthy plays in a single season, and the source material makes clear that his arm does not always match the level of aggression he brings. It also notes that he does not take accountability for it after games.
Still, there is a case that Smith is in a better situation with the Jets than he was in Las Vegas. Aaron Glenn is still an unknown as a head coach, but the source says he cannot be much worse than Pete Carroll was in his lone year with the Raiders. New York’s offensive line is also described as better, and the skill group - Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, Omar Cooper Jr., Kenyon Sadiq and Adonai Mitchell - is said to be at least as good as what the Raiders had last season, if not better.
Even so, the source makes one thing clear: Smith was not just stuck in a bad environment, he also helped create it. And if the Jets stumble early, his mood and his play could go downhill together.
That is the trap of training camp. It is easy to get pulled in by sharp quotes, strong leadership and a stream of positive reports when no real games have been played yet. Raiders fans know that feeling all too well.
Their warning to Jets fans is simple: Smith is not the same quarterback he was with the Seattle Seahawks. He may still be able to lead New York somewhere useful, but based on what happened in Las Vegas, that path could end in the same place - the No. 1 pick and a chance to find a franchise quarterback to dig the team out.
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