The last time quarterback Geno Smith was the full-time starter for the New York Jets, nobody currently on the Miami Dolphins roster had played a snap in the NFL. The year was 2014, and Smith ended his sophomore campaign in the league with a dominant performance against the Dolphins, throwing for 358 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-24 win.
Now, over a decade later, the Jets decided it was time for a reunion. New York has agreed to a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders to bring their former 2013 second-round pick back to where it all started, swapping pick 208 for 228 in this year's NFL draft to do so.
Dolphins fans may not be in a position to laugh at another team's QB situation, especially after the Tua Tagovailoa debacle only just came to a close this week. Still, knowing that Miami now has a young, high-upside passer in Malik Willis, it's not hard to chuckle at Smith being the Jets QB again so many years later.
Geno Smith's reunion with the New York Jets makes Miami Dolphins fans feel better about their QB situation
You can't really blame the Jets for making this move, especially with the options on the market. With the Dolphins scooping up Willis quickly on Monday and Kyler Murray rumored to be the Vikings' target, New York didn't have a lot of options for a capable starter for next season.
Still, it's hard not to laugh at the Jets bringing back Smith at this point in his career. After failing to establish himself as the franchise QB during his rookie contract, Smith bounced around the league until flourishing with the Seattle Seahawks at 32 years old. After three strong seasons as the starter with Seattle, he landed with the Raiders last season and immediately fell off a cliff for a badly run Las Vegas squad.
Could he have something left in the tank? Absolutely, but the Jets would need a lot of things to go right next year for Smith to regain the form that made him an above-average starter in Seattle. Even if he does play well, all that would really accomplish is keeping New York from having a top-five pick in 2027.
They currently have three first-round picks in 2027, so they have the ammo to move up for a QB if they need to. But they would then miss out on using those picks to help improve the roster around whatever rookie passer they choose.
Miami, meanwhile, is going through a full-scale rebuild. Even if Willis plays well in 2026, the lack of talent around him will likely prevent the Dolphins from winning many games in 2026. Even in a year where the Dolphins had to eat $99 million in dead money from cutting Tua, they still appear to be in better shape at QB than their AFC East rival.