A gut punch for Geno

Geno Smith was hours away from taking the practice field as the starting quarterback of the Jets. Now? He’s a backup at best, looking for a new team at worst.

Smith lost his hold on the starting job Wednesday night when Ryan Fitzpatrick agreed to a oneyear, $12 million deal with the Jets, ending the contract stalemate that had dragged on for months. During that time, Smith was the team’s starter, but coach Todd Bowles said all along that Fitzpatrick would be the team’s starting quarterback if he returned to the team.

Now that he has, Smith is going back to the sideline.

The Jets likely will hold onto Smith as Fitzpatrick’ s backup because the other quarterbacks on the roster — Bryce Petty and rookie Christian Hackenberg — did not appear ready to be the No. 2 quarterback during the spring.

If Petty or Hackenberg light up training camp and the preseason, then maybe the Jets decide to move on from Smith and try to trade him or waive him. That situation seems unlikely right now, though.

It will be interesting to see how Smith reacts to Fitzpatrick’s return. He expressed a lot of confidence in himself in the spring and seemed energized by the chance to start. It has to be deflating for him now to go back to the bench.

The 2013 second-round pick started 29 games in his first two seasons, leading the team to an 11-18 record over that time with wildly inconsistent play.

When Bowles was hired last year, he said Smith would be the starting quarterback in 2015. Smith was on his way until IK Enemkpali punched him over an unpaid debt on Aug. 13, two days before the team’s preseason opener. The punch broke Smith’s jaw, sidelining him for more than a month. Fitzpatrick took over and the team got off to a hot start so he kept the job. Smith played in just one game last season, coming in for an injured Fitzpatrick against the Raiders.