Report: Jets Receiving "Soft" Trade Interest In Geno Smith

As always, take this with a pinch of salt.

According to Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News, the New York Jets have fielded calls relating to several players perceived to be on the bubble, and one of those players is unpopular QB Geno Smith.

For the second time at home this pre-season, Geno Smith was booed before even taking a snap, a logic by some fans that I find hard to comprehend.

There is soft interest around the league in Smith. The Jets have fielded inquiries from teams monitoring their surplus at several positions, including quarterback. It's a routine part of the process before final cuts next week.

I wouldn't be all that excited to see Geno leave for what would surely be very little compensation. His value to the team this year is far more important than an extra 7th round selection.

Lets not forget that Ryan Fitzpatrick will be 34 before the season is done, and despite staying largely healthy last year, missed time in both 2013 and 2014. With the state of the Jets backups, I think it would be a huge mistake to leave us with just Bryce Petty as back-up. Christian Hackenberg should be given a year to develop and learn without the pressures of starting.

It's not as if Mike Maccagnan's phone is blowing up with teams clamoring for Smith, but there is intrigue across the league about how the Jets will handle the logjam at the most pivotal position in the sport.

As Manish states, this is due diligence. All teams make a host of exploratory calls about players they have some interest in. With rosters set to be cut and injuries mounting up around the league, it's only natural to want to have a grasp on who's available. However, there are no signs that the Jets are shopping Geno, or even interested in listening to offers for him.

I, for one, hope the Jets ignore advances (dependent on what's being offered, of course) and maintain the plan to have Geno be Fitzpatricks backup in 2016/17.