Jets timeline of starting QBs: Geno Smith could re-join Aaron Rodgers, Sam Darnold as latest QB1 in New York

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.—On the second day of 2026 free agency, the New York Jets traded a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders for Geno Smith, the quarterback who once began their post-Mark Sanchez era in 2013. Smith, now 35 and a two-time Pro Bowl selection after a career resurrection in Seattle, returns to a franchise still starving for its first playoff berth since Sanchez guided the Jets to the 2010 AFC Championship game.

The acquisition completes a dizzying quarterback carousel that has spun for 15 consecutive non-playoff seasons—the longest active drought across the NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA. Since Sanchez’s final snap for the Jets, 14 different quarterbacks have started at least one game, a revolving door that has undercut every roster rebuild.

Sanchez’s decline began in 2011, when two separate three-game skids doomed an 8-8 team, and bottomed out in 2012 with the infamous “butt fumble” and an eventual benching. The Jets drafted Smith 39th overall in 2013; shoulder surgery ended Sanchez’s season before Week 1, thrusting Smith into the lineup. He finished 8-8 with 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, then went 3-10 in 2014 while being benched for Michael Vick.

Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 31-touchdown binge in 2015 produced 10 wins yet no postseason berth. Fitzpatrick faltered the next year, giving way to Smith—whose lone 2016 start ended with a torn ACL. Bryce Petty and veteran Josh McCown split 2017 duties during a second straight 5-11 campaign.

The 2018 trade-up for Sam Darnold signaled a new era, but a pick-six on his first Monday-night attempt foreshadowed turbulence. Darnold’s best stretch came in 2019 when the Jets went 7-6 in his starts, but shoulder injuries and a 2-10 record in 2020 prompted GM Joe Douglas to ship him to Carolina.

Zach Wilson’s arrival as the No. 2 pick in 2021 produced flashes—he went 5-4 in 2023—but two benchings and a late-season demotion to third string soured the organization. The 2024 Aaron Rodgers experiment ended four snaps into Week 1 when the 40-year-old tore his Achilles; Rodgers returned in 2025 but mustered only a 5-12 record while displaying rust from the injury.

With Rodgers gone, the Jets hoped 2025 would belong to Justin Fields, but a 2-7 start scuttled that plan. Tyrod Taylor’s relief appearance lasted barely a month before a December groin injury thrust undrafted rookie Brady Cook into the huddle. Cook lost all four starts, and New York finished 3-14 after becoming the first NFL team to drop five straight games by 23-plus points.

Enter Smith, who left the Jets in 2016 and rebuilt his reputation in Seattle, winning 2022 Comeback Player of the Year honors. Though his 2025 season in Las Vegas featured a league-high 17 interceptions, the Raiders agreed to pay most of his remaining salary, allowing cap-strapped New York to absorb the veteran for just over the league minimum. First-year offensive coordinator Frank Reich now inherits a passer who has already worn Jets green—and felt the weight of its playoff drought.

If Smith secures the Week 1 job, he will join Rodgers, Darnold and a litany of former starters whose collective failure to stabilize the sport’s most critical position has kept the franchise on the outside of the postseason for a decade and a half. For the Jets, the circle is complete; for their long-suffering fans, the hope is that history does not repeat.