New York Jets' Brandon Marshall surfaces as rare Geno Smith supporter

NEW YORK, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- In the aftermath of "butt fumble," came the jaw break of New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith. But after the locker room altercation that resulted in Smith missing an estimated six to ten weeks of the season, only coach Todd Bowles appeared to support his signal-caller.

Smith, 24, has already had surgery, since being punched by former teammate IK Enemkpali last week. Bowles called the hit a "sucker punch," but teammate Darrelle Revis later told the media that both players were at fault and one anonymous teammate even said Smith "deserved" the punch, reportedly thrown due to an unpaid $600 travel debt. Former teammate Brady Quinn also told the Peter Schrager Podcast that he wasn't "surprised" Smith was involved in the altercation.

But support has finally come for the young quarterback, in the form of one of his newest teammates, Brandon Marshall.

"Did he point his finger in his face? No, he didn't," Marshall told ESPN's 'Mike and Mike.' "Geno Smith, he didn't do anything wrong that day. It's just an unfortunate situation. It's a body blow for us, but we have to move forward. We'll probably have another couple of days, a couple of weeks with the New York media, of answering these questions. But we're built for this. We don't any distractions. We just want to move forward. We feel like we have a great opportunity."

Marshall also backed his quarterback on Fox's "Fox and Friends."

"Because he's young," Marshall said on "Fox and Friends." "He's 24. It hasn't been his team. He's been in and out of the lineup the last couple years. There's been a lot of question marks. But I don't care about the past. I care about what he's done this offseason and OTAs and in camp and leading up to that day. To me, he's been a leader. He's getting better at it. It wasn't his team. He had to earn that and he still has to continue to earn that."

Veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick is set to lead the Jets at quarterback to start the season. Smith was photographed by the New York post Saturday, throwing football in front of his apartment, just two days after surgery. Enemkpali now plays for the Buffalo Bills.

"He shouldn't be doing it right now," Bowles told the New York Post. "We handled that internally. We had that discussion. He just got surgery. You don't want him getting it infected."

But a shirtless Smith told the New York Post that he feels good.

"I feel great. You see me throwin', right?" Smith told The Post.