New York Jets: Mike Maccagnan discusses Geno Smith

General manager Mike Maccagnan of the New York Jets has so far done well in his first season with the organization. He had a brilliant off-season with free agency and what many considered to be a very successful 2015 NFL Draft. He was tested early on due to incidents involving both Sheldon Richardson and Geno Smith but has handled everything well and maintained focus on the task at hand as the Jets prepare for the regular season.

Thanks to our friends at the Media Relations Department of the Jets, they sent us a full transcript directly from Maccagnan about the latest involving Smith and if they considered trading for a quarterback at one point after the incident occurred. Enjoy!

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On his opinion of Geno Smith not changing after the incident…

At the end of the day, I think it’s an unfortunate incident. We reviewed it immediately after it happened, we made our decision on how to act and go forward and as it plays itself out, we’ll see how it goes.

On if he is surprised only one player has publicly supported Smith…

Well I think when we first did this, I think we wanted to try to, we’re a team, so we’re going to try to go forward as a team. It’s something that happened inside the locker room so we’re going to try to move forward together as a team, so I think the reason maybe things have or haven’t come out is basically everybody is trying to bond together and trying to go forward.

On the pattern of situations involving Smith…

I wasn’t here for those so the only thing I can judge Geno on is what he has done so far. I’m aware of the past, but really Geno has had a good offseason. He has done a lot of really positive things, both on and off the field in terms of how he’s approached everything. He was having a good training camp so far, obviously this is an unfortunate incident that arose. At the end of the day, we are going to try to move forward from it. From my standpoint, we’ll see how players handle these situations with adversity. It’s obviously a very public issue now, but again we’ll see how he handles it going forward. We’re going to support him and every other player on our team to try to come together as a team and work through this.

On if he has any concerns about Smith’s maturity…

I would say simply that Geno has done a lot of good things this offseason and into training camp, so we’ll see how things are going forward.

On likelihood that team will sign a veteran quarterback…

I don’t want to necessarily put a time frame on that, but it is something we are looking to do. Obviously Geno is going to be out for a period of time. Not to read-between-the-lines on anything with any of our quarterbacks, I think it’s just something we would like to have in the mix and we have the ability to do that potentially for the rest of training camp. As we’ve said before, anything we can do to make our team better going forward, whether it’s in trades, waiver wire claims, or players on the street right now, we’re going to look into those things that would make us a better team.

On if short-term injured reserve is a consideration for Geno…

I would say at this point in time, I don’t really want to say what we’re going to do, because it does kind of affect our roster makeup at that point in time. But I would say based on the timeline for his recovery, it’s a possibility but I don’t really want to necessarily make a comment on that right now but I would say it would not be likely.

Dec 28, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) yells out from the line of scrimmage against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

On if the roster dynamic makes it more difficult to bring in a veteran quarterback…

I think first and foremost, you want to again prepare yourself for all potentialities in terms of what we can do the rest of training camp. Depending on how fast Geno heals and recovers, so probably the first four games and then the question we are going to do with the final roster cut is see where our young quarterbacks are, see how we feel about them, see how they continue to play in the preseason, but having, like a lot of teams, a veteran quarterback in there as a number two option or a number three option has some value in it.

On when Smith will attend meetings and be with the team even though he can’t practice…

Well, I think we are going to try to get Geno back in the building very soon. He is coming in periodically like right now to check in with the doctors. But as soon as he is cleared to come back for meetings, I would imagine at some point in time, possibly later in the week.

On if there was any dialogue with teams about trading for a quarterback…

So what we do normally in training camp this time of year is literally call another team, kind of express what we feel we have some surplus or potential needs and we exchange that information with them. I would say, just so as not to lead anyone astray, there isn’t anything pressing on that front now. I think most teams are kind of evaluating their own quarterback situation. So that will probably, I would imagine, become more of a possibility later on in training camp I would think. But there is nothing pressing on that right now. We’ve talked to other teams but there is nothing pressing I would report.

Next: New York Jets: Ryan Fitzpatrick breaks down his new role

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