Geno Smith is fine with his long road to becoming a bona fide NFL starter.
In his 10th NFL season, the quarterback has led the Seahawks to a surprising 7-5 record, but hasn’t forgotten that he spent several seasons waiting for his chance while playing the No. 2 role for the Jets, Giants and Chargers, in addition to three years behind former Seattle star Russell Wilson.
“My tough times would be a dream to someone else,” Smith told reporters on Thursday. “I’ll never look at it as something that was too hard for me or too tough. I just had to stay patient until I got that opportunity.”
He’s run with it as an unquestioned starter for the first time since his early Jets days, ranking among the top-10 in passing yards (3,169), yards per attempt (8.1), completion percentage (72.7), touchdowns (22), QB ratings (1-8.7), first downs (153) and completions of 20-plus yards (38).
“Football is fun man. Especially when you’ve got guys around you,” he said. “Just being about to go out there and compete with these guys… it’s all I can ask for. I’ve been excited for that every week.”
It’s a long way from where the 32-year-old’s career began with the Jets in 2013 as a second-round draft pick. Smith quickly took over the starting reins, posting a record of 11-19 over his first two seasons. It was a run that was unceremoniously ended with a practice fight in the 2015 preseason, a broken jaw courtesy of teammate Ik Enemkpali. He bided his time and plied his trade since, making spot starts along the way — famously ending Eli Manning’s games-started streak in 2017.
On Sunday, Smith will see the face of the man responsible for that decision across Lumen Field in Seattle when the Seahawks take on the Panthers, with former Giants coach Ben McAdoo now Carolina’s offensive coordinator.
It was that Smith start against the Raiders that ended McAdoo’s tenure in New York, something the QB has not forgotten.
“Coach Mac was always a really good coach to me,” Smith said. “I really thought he had a plan when he was there, I thought he got cut a little short in his time with the Giants. But I understand that a part of that reason was because he started me in that game. I always held him dear to my heart for that. I thought that was definitely a bold move to make, for him to lose his job behind that, I felt some type of way about that.”
Smith won’t take it easy against his old coach, and he won’t take anything for granted, either.
“There’s always going to be things being said out there being said about what I’m doing and how I’m doing it,” he said. “I just want to continue to show up every week for the guys around me.
