Rex Ryan Taunts Geno Smith, Paints IK Enkempali As The Victim In Locker Room Brawl

Rex Ryan took an inadvertent shot at embattled Jets QB Geno Smith when he went out of his way to defend one of his own guys. The guy just happened to be IK Enemkpali, the man who effectively altered Geno Smith’s NFL career, possibly forever.

According to ESPN, Rex Ryan was quoted as saying the infamous the locker room brawl was an “unfortunate incident” but instead of labeling Geno the victim, Rex went the other way.

“Everybody sees him as the guy who punched Geno or something like that. This guy’s just a football player and that’s what he wants to be known as, and that was just an unfortunate thing that happened to him.”

While Rex’s comments were probably misconstrued, his language suggested that IK was the victim and not Geno, despite the fact that Smith ended up losing his starting job to Ryan Fitzpatrick as a result of the brawl. As reported by CBS Sports, Geno and IK were embroiled in an argument that came to blows over a reported $600 dollar repayment Smith owed IK for not attending his charity as planned. Enemkpali took a swing at Geno, connecting and breaking his jaw. The rest as they say is history.

Backup Ryan Fitzpatrick took command of the team from Week 1 and didn’t relinquish his starting spot despite getting injured halfway through the year. Fitzpatrick threw for a team record 31 TDs and almost 4,000 yards before suffering a crushing loss in the last game of the year to Ryan’s Buffalo Bills.

Enkempali was immediately cut after the incident but found shelter with Ryan, the coach who drafted him the year before when he was coach of the Jets. IK played sparingly throughout the season, but according to New York Upstate, Ryan thinks he has a chance to make a real impact on the team this year.

“Yeah, no doubt…. IK’s done really well. I think we had him with the ones primarily today. We’re bumping guys around and stuff but, yeah, he’ll have a chance. IK is a physical player. He’s doing a much better job in his pass-coverage responsibility. So I could definitely see him pushing for playing time, without question.”

This vote of confidence from Rex is due to the Bills’ first-round pick Shaq Lawson recovering from offseason surgery, but nonetheless bodes well for the third-year pro.

Geno Smith meanwhile, has been left to pick up the pieces of his NFL career. He may very well be the starter come the beginning of the season if the Ryan Fitzpatrick contract negotiations remain at a stand still however, getting the chance at being the all-pro that was taken away when IK decked him in the locker room last year.

And according to NBC Sports he’s been prepping for the new season by surrounding himself with some of the best talent in the NFL for offseason workouts.

“Geno Smith has a pretty good pair of receivers in New York when he practices with Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. But that’s nothing compared to the all-star cast he’s working out with in Miami during the offseason, as the Jets quarterback’s throwing it around with Pro Bowlers Odell Beckham, Antonio Brown, and Jarvis Landry.”

Geno has been getting first-team reps throughout OTAs as the Jets await Fitzpatrick to re-sign. Coach Chan Gailey, according to New Jersey Dot Com, even went so far as to praise Geno’s performance thus far.

“He’s learned so much in one year,” Gailey said recently. “And I think he’s made giant steps. I think he’s right on track for where I’d like him to be.”

And despite what Rex Ryan says, that track got detoured thanks to IK Enkempali.

[Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images]