PHOENIX -- New York Jets coach Todd Bowles says Geno Smith is in line to open training camp as the team's starting quarterback, mainly because they don't have any other choice.
"Geno's been here a year, so obviously he's going to start off going into it," Bowles said Tuesday at the AFC coaches breakfast during the NFL owners meetings. "With Ryan [Fitzpatrick] being injured, when we get to training camp, [Smith] is going to start out getting the first-team reps. He's the only quarterback we have right now if we don't draft one."
That remains an "if," because the Jets hold the No. 6 pick in the upcoming draft and Bowles said the team plans to work out and interview top quarterback prospects Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota.
Bowles also said Fitzpatrick, who is recovering from a broken leg, would not be ready in time for organized team activities. He's expected back for camp, but when he gets there he'll start out as the No. 2 behind Smith.
"You take positions in training camp," Bowles said. "So if you're first-team and you want to stay first-team, you do your job. If you're not, you don't do your job. But we haven't seen Geno in the quarterbacking situation. So I'm not saying he's not going to be the quarterback or he is going to be the quarterback. He just starts out there."
Bowles said he didn't think it was possible to split first-team reps among multiple quarterbacks in camp, so if Smith is going to lose the role, Fitzpatrick would have to perform well enough in a backup role to take it from him. Obviously, if the Jets end up drafting Winston or Mariota, that would alter the picture somehow, but they know they can't count on that.
"We've still got to work the two guys out," Bowles said. "We're going to do due diligence, do our homework on those guys at the top of the draft. But we're going to do our due diligence on all the guys who can possibly go at six, and we've got to see who's the guy we want to take. It's not just the quarterbacks. It's all of them."
The Jets took Smith with the No. 39 pick in the 2013 draft. In two NFL seasons, he's thrown 25 touchdown passes and 34 interceptions. He's had some eye-opening games and many frustrating ones. Bowles knows the history and is looking forward to April, when he'll finally have a chance to work with Smith and talk to him.
"There's a growth in each player in this league," Bowles said. "Coming in that young, coming out of college, all you want to see is the potential. And now you see the potential, and he has some good games and he has some bad games, and now there's got to be consistency.
"What makes him have the bad game? What's he looking at? What's he thinking? Where's his head at? That's the hard part about the offseason and not being able to talk to your quarterback. You can't get into those things right now, and those are some of the things that I want to find out. You have seen potential in him, and he's only a second-year player, so you want to say there's hope for potential growth there and something to look forward to."