Geno Smith won’t be attending Jets West, after all.
The second-round pick and Mark Sanchez will prep for their upcoming quarterback battle on opposite coasts after an NFL source confirmed yesterday Smith will continue to train in Florida instead of participating in the Sanchez-organized workouts that started yesterday in Southern California.
Smith has been training recently at Bommarito Performance Systems in Miami, along with several other NFL players, including rookie wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins of the AFC East-rival Patriots.
Smith is opting to stay there instead of joining his Jets teammates in California despite indicating last month he likely would attend what has become Sanchez’s annual team-building summer exercise.
Smith originally answered “no comment” at the Jets’ June minicamp when asked if he would attend Jets West, then clarified the next day that he had been unaware of Sanchez’s workouts and likely would attend.
“I’m more than willing to go there, get some work, work with the guys and do all that stuff,” Smith told reporters in June, adding his relationship with Sanchez was “great.”
But something about Smith’s opinion of Jets West changed in the meantime. Smith by all accounts struggled in the veteran minicamp, putting him behind the veteran Sanchez in the race for a starting job coach Rex Ryan has said will be decided in training camp.
Sanchez has said all of his teammates on offense are invited to what essentially is an ad hoc passing camp held during the players’ “dead” period before camp.
Sanchez and the receivers on hand, including Jordan White, posted some photos from Wednesday night’s arrival and yesterday’s workout on Twitter.