Jets QB Geno Smith out 6-10 weeks after ‘sucker punch’

With head coach Todd Bowles confirming that veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick is temporarily stepping into the starting role, per the New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta, and rookie Bryce Petty operating as the team’s backup in light of Smith’s incident, the Jets need to add stability to their stable of quarterbacks. Smith failed to show up to the camp due to personal reasons, and Enemkpali wanted to be reimbursed. He also released a statement this afternoon.

Now we’ve heard from Enemkpali as well.

Jared Lorenzen, who spent some time in the NFL with the Giants, took the opportunity to tweet the Jets letting them know he’d be willing to suit up for some snaps via Twitter. This is not the first time Enemkpali, from Pflugerville, Texas, has been in trouble for fighting.

“If you have a team and you have a bunch of side issues, you can’t tolerate that”, Bowles said.

Bowles, who was informed of the situation by a trainer, said Smith did not throw a counter-punch and that several players stepped in to break up the altercation.

Enemkpali had three tackles in six games last season after being taken in the sixth round out of Louisiana Tech.

He was arrested and charged with battery on a police officer and disturbing the peace/drunk, according to court records. He also was ordered to perform 32 hours of community service and to complete an anger-management course. So, despite Smith’s vow to return, there’s a chance that the punch could end up derailing his plans to bounce back in 2015 after two rough seasons in the league.

After the incident, Bowles said that he sat down with both players – together and separately – and then decided to release Enemkpali, saying that he would have cut him even if he was a starter.

“Jets fans are used to calamity happening to their team at the quarterback position, but this is a new one”.

Before Smith’s injury, the Jets were 3.5-point home favorites over the Cleveland Browns in Week 1. The SuperBook kept the Jets’ season win total at 7.5, but dropped the price on the over from -130 to -120.