New York Jets Mark Cannizzaro It’s imperative Jets and Geno Smith back up their preseason intentions By Mark Cannizzaro Published Aug. 18, 2026, 5:30 p.m. ET Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) throws during practice at training camp in Florham Park, NJ, on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. (Bill Kostroun) Bill Kostroun/New York Post A clear trend has emerged in recent NFL summers of teams sitting their starting quarterbacks in preseason games to prevent injuries.
It used to be commonplace — particularly when there were four preseason games instead of the three played now — for teams to play their starting units on both sides of the ball for at least a full first half in one of the first couple of games before resting them altogether in the finale.
In the 16 preseason openers last week, 20 of the 32 projected starting quarterbacks did not play a snap. In seven of the 16 games, neither starting quarterback played — including the Jets-Buccaneers game, where neither Geno Smith nor Baker Mayfield saw action.
Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) throws as Brady Cook (4) and Cade Klubnik (10) look on during practice at training camp in Florham Park, NJ, on Monday, August 17, 2026. Bill Kostroun/New York Post Smith’s absence stemmed from a sore ankle that he said swelled after the second of two joint practices with the Bucs last week. Otherwise, head coach Aaron Glenn planned to start Smith and have him play a series or two.
