The Jets' offseason makeover is the bigger story walking into Friday's game. New York shipped Justin Fields to Kansas City and traded for Geno Smith, with head coach Aaron Glenn calling him the starter with no timeline on how long that lasts. Smith is also dealing with an active police investigation into a battery accusation, a situation the team insists won't affect his availability for 2026 — but it's the kind of headline that follows a quarterback into every camp report between now and Week 1.
None of that changes what this particular Friday night is: a low-stakes look at depth charts more than a real form guide. Tampa Bay's skill-position pieces — Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka, a healthy-if-limited Bucky Irving — carry more name recognition than anything the Jets are trotting out beyond Garrett Wilson, and that talent gap should show up even with backups getting run.
Whoever ends up on the field, don't expect either group's first-teamers to play deep into this one. Preseason openers are roster-evaluation theater first and competitive football a distant second, which is exactly why the Jets' quarterback competition behind Smith — Cade Klubnik dealing with back tightness, Brady Cook in the mix — matters more to New York's actual season than Friday's final score.