By OLIVER SALT, US ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Published: 17:13 EDT, 10 March 2026 | Updated: 17:14 EDT, 10 March 2026
New York Mets icon-turned-commentator Keith Hernandez couldn't resist teasing his Jets-supporting colleague over the team trading for Geno Smith on Tuesday.
Smith is returning to the swamps of New Jersey nearly 13 years after being taken by the Jets in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
In a controversial deal that amounts to a salary dump for the Raiders, the out-of-sorts quarterback and a seventh-round pick are going from Las Vegas to New York in exchange for a sixth rounder in next month's Draft, according to multiple reports.
Given the nightmare season he just endured in Sin City, in which he went 2-13 while throwing a career-worst 17 interceptions, Smith's move back to the Jets has not gone down well with their fans, who have not seen their team in the playoffs for 15 years and counting.
And while commentating on the Mets' game against the St. Louis Cardinals for New York sports network SNY, five-time World Series winner Hernandez trolled Steve Gelbs - who has covered the Jets for over a decade - over his beloved team's questionable move.
'Apparently the Jets are trading for Geno Smith,' Gelbs initially said on the broadcast after the news broke.
A Jets-supporting Mets commentator was trolled on air over the team's trade for Geno Smith
Mets icon Keith Hernandez (right) couldn't resist mocking Steve Gelbs (left) over the trade
Keith Hernandez asking Steve Gelbs if he’s okay after learning the Jets are trading for Geno Smith…“I can take over for you for a half inning if you want” pic.twitter.com/KvtEfnGbEx
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 10, 2026
After the pair announced the terms of the trade, there was a long pause before Hernandez brutally told his co-commentator: 'Steve are you ok? I can take over for you for a half inning if you want...'
He then added on a more serious note: 'Geno's had a very nice career, but he's on the back side.'
'He really struggled last year, one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL,' Gelbs admitted.
Smith was believed to be on his way to being released this week before the Raiders reached an agreement with one of his former teams.
The 35-year-old previously played four seasons with the Jets, going 28-24, before becoming a backup with the New York Giants in 2017.
He'd go on to play in a backup role for the Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks before reigniting his career when Russell Wilson was traded from Seattle to Denver in 2022. Smith would then have his best season, completing nearly 70 percent of his passes for 4,282 yards and 30 touchdowns.
But he was ultimately replaced in Seattle with Sam Darnold, another former Jets quarterback, who helped lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win last month after Smith's disastrous year in Vegas.