Geno Smith is seeing things a bit differently with the New York Jets this time around.
No, it’s not quite rose-colored glasses. But the veteran quarterback is wearing red contact lenses during training camp this summer in his return to the team that drafted him in 2013.
Fashionable? Maybe. Functional? Definitely.
“It’s something that we’ve been doing,” said the 35-year-old Smith, acquired in the offseason from Las Vegas. “It blocks out the sunlight and all that, so it’s actually pretty cool. It keeps the glare from the sun out of your eyes.”
Smith was still wearing the UV protection lenses while speaking to reporters after practice Thursday, giving the quarterback’s eyes an almost sinister look. One reporter joked that he was scared, causing Smith to break into a not-so-evil grin.
“As I got back here, I spoke to some eye specialists,” Smith said, “and they suggested it and then we started doing it.”
The quarterback was asked if he was having eye issues or simply opted for the contacts over wearing a tinted visor on his helmet so there was less squinting and more seeing.
“It’s just something we’re trying out, just to see what it was like,” he said. “I like it, so we’ve been sticking with it.”
Several players around the league have tried wearing the glare-reducing contacts, including Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert last summer. Smith said he first saw them when then-Jets teammate Santonio Holmes wore them during the 2013 season.
Oh, and by the way, Smith isn’t seeing red these days.
“The entire room is yellow, so it’s a yellow tint to everything,” he said. “But yeah, it’s pretty cool. You guys should try it.”
They seem to be working for Smith, who is off to a solid start to camp. He played his first four NFL seasons for the franchise before stints with the Giants, Chargers, Seahawks and Raiders. New York, looking for a veteran signal caller in the offseason, acquired Smith and a seventh-round draft pick in March from Las Vegas for a sixth-rounder.
He’ll enter the season as the unquestioned starter and is feeling comfortable in new offensive coordinator Frank Reich’s system.
“I’m excited about the schematic advantages that he’s able to create, but also the ways that he allows players to go out there and make plays and to have freedom to take ownership of the offense,” Smith said. “I think there’s a fine balance with X’s and O’s and also having great players and allowing those guys to be themselves. Coach Reich, he’s played in the league, so he understands that dynamic and that balance.”
The Jets play their first preseason game next Friday night at home against Tampa Bay and former coach Todd Bowles. It wasn’t yet known if New York coach Aaron Glenn will play his starters, including Smith, at all in that game. Smith, who has played in the preseason the last several years, sounded open to the possibility.
“I love playing football.” Smith said. “Whenever coach tells me to go out there, I go play.”
Reporting by the Associated Press.
