BOCA RATON, Fla. — “The Punch” may have cost Geno Smith his starting job, but Jets coach Todd Bowles said it also provided the young quarterback with an opportunity to prove his mental toughness.
“He always worked hard,” Bowles said Tuesday morning, speaking at the AFC Head Coaches Breakfast at the annual NFL owners’ meetings. “But he kept his head down and kept working and he moved on. And that’s tough to do. That’s tough to do.”
Smith had beaten out veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick last offseason for the No. 1 quarterback position before a training-camp altercation changed the course of his career and the Jets’ franchise.