Fight shelves Smith
Jets’ QB will miss 6-10 weeks after teammate breaks his jaw
florham park, n.j.» Geno Smith’s hopes for a breakout season with the New York Jets took a major blow — to the jaw.
The quarterback will be sidelined 6-10 weeks with a broken jaw after being punched by teammate Ikemefuna Enemkpali in the locker room Tuesday morning. Smith, entering his third season, will require surgery to repair the injuries. He hadn’t yet undergone the procedure as of late Tuesday afternoon.
Coach Todd Bowles made the stunning announcement in an impromptu news conference before training camp practice was scheduled to start.
Enemkpali, an outside linebacker in his second season, was immediately released by the Jets. Bowles said Smith and Enemkpali got into an “altercation” in the locker room Tuesday morning.
“It had nothing to do with football,” Bowles said. “It was something very childish, and he got cold-cocked, suckerpunched
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— whatever you want to call it — in the jaw.”
Bowles wouldn’t go into detail about the nature of the altercation, except to say: “It was something very childish, that sixthgraders could have talked about. It had no reason for happening.”
Smith, who was having a good training camp, will be sidelined for the rest of the summer and probably for the first few games of the season. The season opener at home against Cleveland on Sept. 13 is five weeks away.
“Depending on how surgery goes, we’ll see where we go from there,” Bowles said.
Smith took to Instagram and posted a picture of himself sitting in a car — mouth closed and looking stern — and a simple message: “ILL BE BACK.”
In a statement issued to The Associated Press by his agent, Enemkpali apologized to the team and fans.
“Geno and I let our frustration get the best of us, but I should have just walked away from the situation,” Enemkpali said. “I deeply regret and apologize for my actions. It was never my intention to harm anyone. I appreciate the opportunity I had with the Jets.”
Bowles said the Jets could add another quarterback, but it appears veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick will assume the starting job. Bryce Petty, a fourth-round pick this year out of Baylor, and undrafted free agent Jake Heaps out of Miami are the Jets’ other remaining quarterbacks.