Geno Smith waited seven weeks before getting his first start of the 2016 season on Sunday, and unfortunately for the Jets quarterback, his first start of the year is also going to be his last.
According to NFL.com, Smith suffered a torn ACL in his right knee Sunday that will keep him out for the rest of the season. The Jets quarterback was injured during the second quarter of New York's 24-16 win over Baltimore.
ICYMI: Geno suffers a torn ACL and Fitz is back under center.
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 25, 2016
MORE → https://t.co/Tw2nUfJjzapic.twitter.com/x5nHp7bRwt
Before leaving the game with the injury, Smith was 4 of 8 for 95 yards and a touchdown.
The injury will likely come as a complete surprise to Smith, who said that he felt fine after the game.
"I don't think it's anything too significant, but we'll see," Smith said, via ESPN.com.
Smith felt so good on Sunday that he said he was actually "begging" the coaching staff to let him back in the game.
The injury happened about halfway through the second quarter when Smith went down awkwardly after being sacked by Baltimore linebacker Matt Judon on a third-and-6.
After the play, Smith clearly knew something was at least slightly wrong because he went to a training table so he could be examined on the sideline.
After being examined, Smith was ruled out for the rest of the game.
The fact that Smith returned to the sideline after being ruled out raised the ire of Jets legend Joe Namath. During the game, Namath took to Twitter to call Smith out.
If you've got a right knee injury keeping you out of the game why are you standing on the sideline the entire 2nd half? How bad can it be?
— Joe Namath (@RealJoeNamath) October 23, 2016
Namath might want to consider tweeting an apology, because he clearly had no clue about the extent of the injury. Smith was so frustrated with Namath's tweet that he actually responded to it after the game.
Somebody tell Joe that the doctors have the final say on whether you can or cannot get back into the game...... and also that I love him!
— Geno (@GenoSmith7) October 23, 2016
Smith's latest injury continues what can only be described as a frustrating career for him in New York. The quarterback was coach Todd Bowles' original choice to start for the Jets before those plans got derailed in August 2015 when Smith was punched in the face by teammate IK Enemkpali.
The punch broke Smith's jaw and sidelined him for 10 weeks, which forced Bowles to give the starting QB job to Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick then held onto the job until from August 2015 until last week, when Smith was named the starter for Week 7.
As things stand now, the Jets will be going back to Fitzpatrick, who has struggled pretty much every game that he has started the season. Fitzmagic has thrown a league-high 11 interceptions.
The good news for the Jets is that he actually didn't throw any picks when he relieved Smith on Sunday. In the win over Baltimore, Fitzpatrick was 9 of 14 for 120 yards and a touchdown.
