Jets' Geno Smith has torn ACL, done for season

Tadd Haislop

Jets' Geno Smith has torn ACL, done for season image

Just Geno Smith's luck — the Jets quarterback makes his first start of the 2016 season, plays a little more than a quarter and leaves the game with a knee injury.

And that knee injury might spell the end of his tenure in New York.

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Smith tore his ACL, the Jets announced Monday after the QB had an MRI, and he's out for the season. ESPN reports Smith will seek a second opinion before getting treatment.

"He caught a bad break two years in a row," coach Todd Bowles said. "I'm sure he'll bounce back from it, but it's a tough part of the business."

Smith, 26, is in the fourth and final year of his rookie contract with the Jets. The team, based on the way it has treated Smith since he literally was knocked from his starting role by a teammate's fist before the 2015 season, has seemed ready to move on from Smith, anyway.

Smith left Sunday's game in the second quarter of the Jets' win over the Ravens after taking a sack from Baltimore linebacker Matt Judon. He was ruled out and stood on the sideline during the second half (which Jets legend Joe Namath did not like) as Ryan Fitzpatrick helped New York earn the victory.

Sporting News' David Steele wrote Sunday that Smith deserved more chances in the staring lineup. Monday's news all but destroys any hope Smith had to resurrect his career in New York.

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Smith, selected by the Jets in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, has started 30 games for New York for a career passer rating of 72.4. His 12-18 record as starter mirrors his TD-INT ratio of 28-36.

The silver lining for the Jets: no more quarterback debates. And Fitzpatrick can quit whining, now, too. He'll be the starter again moving forward.

Tadd Haislop

Tadd Haislop is the Associate NFL Editor at SportingNews.com.