Carl Banks: Geno Smith starting ‘with a big anvil just inches from his head ready to drop’ with Jets fans

The first time Geno Smith was the New York Jets quarterback, it was a disaster.

You can say many things about Jet fans, but forgetful is not one of them.

So now that Smith is back with the team following a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders, don’t expect them to give the quarterback too much room for error.

Even Carl Banks, synonymous with the New York Giants, knows this.

“What is happening with Geno Smith as he returned and like Jets fans are just not happy with him, but some of the stuff that’s being said is if the guy has kinda — it’s not kind of — he’s redeemed his career,” Banks said to co-host Bob Papa on their Bleav in Giants podcast this week. “He’s gone on post-Jets and and and done some good things, but boy, they are just killing him and the Jets.

“They call him a bum. He’s this, he’s that. I’m like, is this how you want to treat a guy coming in?”

Banks even went as far as to say that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Jets move on from Smith quickly.

“It wouldn’t shock me if the Jets were looking at somebody else and saying, ‘ Hey, look, this ain’t going to work out because this guy ain’t going to be welcome here,'” he said.

Smith was initially drafted out of West Virginia by the Jets in 2013 and spent two seasons as their starter before he was benched in the following two. After brief stints with the Giants and Chargers, Smith rejuvenated his career with the Seattle Seahawks, eventually replacing Russell Wilson, earning two Pro Bowl nods and winning Comeback Player of the Year. He was traded to the Raiders before last season in what ended up being an unofrtuitious reuinion with coach Pete Carroll. Smith three a league-high 17 interceptions last year.

To his credit, Banks did say that he felt Smith had earned the right to return to New York and be the starter, but the cards are stacked against him in terms of fan perception.

“Listen, Geno, one thing I give him credit for, he committed to being a good quarterback and, you know, that was a that was an issue when he was with the Giants that, okay, was his commitment fully there? That’s long gone and behind him,” he said to Papa. “Like you said, he has proven he’s dedicated himself to being a good quarterback and he’s proven that he could be a NFL quarterback in this league. But boy, it’s that’s a tough situation to walk back into, when you’re your team and your fans don’t want you. How how is that even tenable?