The New York Jets will hope that the 2026 campaign marks the beginning of a much different chapter than the one they have been enduring since their last playoff appearance at the end of the 2010 season.
As if the returns of starting quarterback Geno Smith and linebacker DeMario Davis were not already blasts from the past, fans will be interested to learn that they both will wear the numbers they owned previously with Gang Green. According to the team, Smith will wear No. 7 while Davis will wear his customary No. 56.
The Las Vegas Raiders sent Smith and a 2026 seventh-round pick to New York in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick. As a result, the Florida native will return to the franchise that drafted him in 2013.
Across four years with the Jets, Smith tossed 28 touchdowns, surrendered 36 interceptions, and compiled 5,962 passing yards.
“I still have a ton of years left on my body to play this game and I want to continue to try and maximize it,” Smith told the New York media. “And so I believe the Jets are getting a better player than I was in Seattle. I know that for a fact, in fact.”
As for Davis, he inked a two-year, $22 million contract this offseason and was honest when speaking about why he wanted to return to the Meadowlands.
“Leaving here, I felt the mission personally was a little incomplete,” Davis said via the team’s official website. “This is my third time around, but this time I come back very different, very purposeful, very clear on vision, on who I am.
“This wasn’t a happenstance situation. This was a choice, knowing who I am and what I am called to be. I know what I’m stepping into this time around. I know what I’m bringing into a locker room. I know I play the game at an elite level. I know every year I’m trying to play better than the prior year.”
It remains to be seen how both will impact the Jets in 2026, but at the very least, they will have a chance to show they’re the sort of veterans who can help the organization get on the right track.
The New York Jets will hope that the 2026 campaign marks the beginning of a much different chapter than the one they have been enduring since their last playoff appearance at the end of the 2010 season. As if the returns of starting quarterback Geno Smith and linebacker DeMario Davis were not already blasts from the past, fans will be interested to learn that they both will wear the numbers they owned previously with Gang Green.