Jets' Geno Smith ruled out with ankle injury: Rookie QB Cade Klubnik makes NFL debut

Rookie Cade Klubnik stepped in to open the second half, leading a 10-play, 61-yard scoring drive on his very first NFL possession

Nov 15, 2026 at 3:51 pm ET • 1 min read

New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith left for the locker room in the third quarter of Sunday's matchup against the Buffalo Bills after he suffered an ankle injury. He had returned to the lineup for one drive in the second half after clearing concussion protocol, and led the Jets to a field goal. However, he exited again, pushing rookie Cade Klubnik into the game to complete his first NFL action. 

Smith's second injury of the day came in the third quarter after just one full drive following his concussion evaluation. As he threw, he took a hit that seemed to fall on his right ankle. The Jets initially ruled him questionable to return before downgrading him to out in the fourth quarter. 

Earlier in the game, on a third-and-9 with 25 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Smith was sandwiched between defenders Terrel Bernard and TJ Parker. He remained on the turf for several moments as trainers attended to him. He was evaluated for a concussion before being cleared after halftime.

Check out what happened here: 

Cade Klubnik completes his first NFL drive

When the Jets took the field in the second half, it was the rookie Klubnik under center. On the very first drive of his NFL career, he marched the Jets 61 yards downfield on 10 plays and set up a 22-yard field goal. Klubnik completed two of four passes for 39 yards and rushed twice for 19 yards. His first completion went to star wideout Garrett Wilson for 29 yards.

When Klubnik entered the game for his second possession in the third quarter, he threw an interception to Davison Igbinosun, who fumbled the ball back to the Jets. New York didn't take advantage of its second chance, going three-and-out. 

The fourth-round pick out of Clemson ranked top five in the FBS in completions (855), passing yards (9,426) and passing touchdowns (71) from 2023-25, and came in and beat out Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe for the backup job. 

Prior to exiting the game, Smith completed 13 of 21 passes for 148 yards.