Geno Smith doesn’t dare look too far ahead, but the dream is all too tantalizing:

Returning at age 36 to the franchise that drafted him 13 long years ago, the quarterback of a Jets team that ended its 15-year playoff drought, writing the second Comeback Kid story of a roller-coaster career.

“That’d be like a story and a movie, right?” Smith said, and smiled. “It’s kind of like one of those superhero movies, but my life is based on reality. God has blessed me to play in the league this long, and to have an opportunity to come back here. I’m very, very grateful for that … because they don’t come too often. These opportunities, you have to cherish ’em.”

Trust me when I tell you that he is a much different man and a different quarterback than the one who is remembered by too many Jets fans for getting his jaw broken in the locker room by teammate IK Enemkpali.