New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith is wearing red contact lenses during training camp to block out sunlight glare as he prepares for the upcoming season. The 35-year-old veteran returned to the franchise that drafted him in 2013 following an awful 2025 season with Tom Brady's Las Vegas Raiders.
Smith was still wearing the red UV protection lenses while speaking to reporters after practice on Thursday. The lenses gave the quarterback's eyes an almost sinister look, leading a reporter to joke that he was scared, which caused Smith to break into a not-so-evil grin.
"It's something that we've been doing," Smith explained. "It blocks out the sunlight and all that, so it's actually pretty cool. It keeps the glare from the sun out of your eyes."
"As I got back here, I spoke to some eye specialists and they suggested it and then we started doing it," Smith said.
The quarterback was asked if he was having eye issues or simply opted for the contacts over wearing a tinted visor on his helmet so there was less squinting and more seeing.
"It's just something we're trying out, just to see what it was like," he added. "I like it, so we've been sticking with it."
Red contact lenses in the NFL
Several players around the league have tried wearing the glare-reducing contacts, including Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert last summer. Smith said he first saw them when then-Jets teammate Santonio Holmes wore them during the 2013 season.
"The entire room is yellow, so it's a yellow tint to everything," he revealed. "But yeah, it's pretty cool. You guys should try it."
They seem to be working for Smith, who is off to a solid start to camp. He played his first four NFL seasons for the franchise before stints with the New York Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, and Las Vegas Raiders.
New York, looking for a veteran signal caller in the offseason, acquired Smith and a seventh-round draft pick in March from Las Vegas for a sixth-rounder. He will enter the season as the unquestioned starter and is feeling comfortable in new offensive coordinator Frank Reich's system.
Offensive system and preseason games
"I'm excited about the schematic advantages that he's able to create, but also the ways that he allows players to go out there and make plays and to have freedom to take ownership of the offense," Smith said.
"I think there's a fine balance with X's and O's and also having great players and allowing those guys to be themselves," Smith added. "Coach Reich, he's played in the league, so he understands that dynamic and that balance."
The Jets play their first preseason game next Friday night at home against Tampa Bay and former coach Todd Bowles. It was not yet known if New York coach Aaron Glenn will play his starters, including Smith, at all in that game.
Smith, who has played in the preseason the last several years, sounded open to the possibility. "I love playing football," Smith said. "Whenever coach tells me to go out there, I go play."
