Geno Smith was at the Jets' facility Wednesday morning for meetings, but he was not at practice and he will not be on the sideline Friday night when the Jets host the Falcons in a preseason game.
"If he's healthy, he'll be on the sideline," head coach Todd Bowles said of Smith, the Jets quarterback who's out with a broken jaw sustained last week after being punched by then-teammate IK Enemkpali.
"All the injured players won't be on the sideline," Bowles said. "That's just policy. We've got too many guys right now. We've already got 90 guys in camp. Everybody's in the way. If you're a gunner on the punt team and you get pushed into the sideline, if somebody can't get out of the way, they're going to get hurt."
Odd because Muhammad Wilkerson was on the sideline while nursing a hamstring for last week's away game against the Lions. But Bowles said that was because Wilkerson had made the trip to Detroit and was a game-time decision.
"He will be not be on the sideline this week," Bowles said of Wilkerson's status for this week's home game.
Smith is expected to be out another five to nine weeks. He's had plates and screws inserted into his jaw to stabilize it. The Jets will have to hold a roster spot for him once the regular season begins, but they did add Matt Flynn to be Smith's replacement behind Ryan Fitzpatrick, who's now the starter.
Bowles said Smith's presence at the facility on a full-time basis going forward will depend on Smith's health.
"As he gets better, the longer he can stay out, the more he'll be here," Bowles said.
It's not MetLife Stadium but ... there's always that parking lot to chuck the ball around on.
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