Smith, 35, has endured an up-and-down career in the NFL. In 2013, he was the first Jets rookie to throw for 300 yards in a game, against Buffalo. In the 2014 regular-season finale against Miami, a 37-24 win on the road, he completed 20-of-25 passes for 358 yards, 3 TDs and no INTs, earning a perfect passer rating for 158.3 -- the only "perfect" game in the league that season.
After signing with the Giants, after four seasons with the Green & White (two as the starter), Smith saw the field in a total of 8 games for four teams (the Giants, the Chargers and his first two years with the Seahawks).
The passage of time and the experience of hitting the high and lows in the life of an NFL quarterback have left Smith more philosophical about his career up to this point.
"Number one as a person, I think just growth," he said. "I was, what was I like, 25 years old, maybe 26 at the time. And, that's been a whole 10 years gone by, and that's a lot of experience, and that's a lot of life lessons and different things that will kind of shape you.
"And so I've gained a ton of perspective over the course of time, and been around some great coaches, been around some great players, been on some great teams, and just being a sponge and learning, learning from all those experiences, I think has helped me get to this point. But you never want to stop learning. You never want to stop growing. And so I'm continuing to learn, and this experience as well is one that I will continue to learn from and continue to be better from. And so just as a man, I've got two kids now, I'm a lot, I'm a little bit older, but I still can move. I still can do all the things that I was doing back then as a player. Again, just the mental side of it, right?"