Chargers sign QB Geno Smith to 1-year deal
By Travis Wakeman
The Los Angeles Chargers have a new man in the quarterback room.
Veteran quarterback Geno Smith agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the team on Sunday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Former Jets’ and Giants’ QB Geno Smith reached agreement with the Los Angeles Chargers, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 2, 2018
After being selected in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft by the New York Jets, he spent four mostly mediocre seasons with the team. Last season, he played for the New York Giants and became the answer to a trivia question when he became the first Giants quarterback to start a game other than Eli Manning since 2004 after Manning was benched.
Now, Smith comes to the team with the active leader in consecutive starts in Philip Rivers, who has started the past 192 games for the team.
He will come in and battle Cardale Jones for the primary backup job this coming season.
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Smith has played in 35 career games, completing 57.9 percent of his career throws. He’s thrown just 29 touchdown passes while turning the ball over 46 times (36 INTs, 10 fumbles).
Rivers has been the Chargers’ starter for over a decade, but the team has tried several options at the backup position over the last couple years. Kellen Clemens held that job down for four seasons but last year, the team traded a conditional draft pick to the Buffalo Bills to obtain Jones.
Jones was given the opportunity to earn the No. 2 job in preseason, but he wasn’t able to nail it down, forcing the team to keep Clemens on the roster. In four preseason games, he completed just 59 percent of his throws while throwing three interceptions and no touchdown passes.
That could be because Jones lacked familiarity with the team as he didn’t come into the fold until late July, but it could also be because he’s just not an NFL quarterback.
If he can’t beat out Smith this summer, that will pretty much be confirmed.