Geno Smith may have made his most accurate throw of the year after reports circulated on Friday that the Las Vegas Raiders are expected torelease the quarterbackwhen the new NFL year begins next week.
The social media account of fast-food chain Wendy's responded to the news by tagging Smith on X and offering him future employment.
"In case things don't work out in free agency we're looking for a Chief Tasting Officer,"the post said.
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Smith responded with a rather sharp quip, perhaps implying that he didn't think Wendy's teasing was very funny. Or maybe he appreciated the dig and just came back stronger than anyone might have anticipated.
"Get ya cheese up 1st," Smith replied, telling Wendy's to make more money. But the post was accompanied by a screenshot of a February Restaurant Business article with the headline "Wendy's sales plunged last quarter."
The fast-food chain's sales dropped 11% last year,according to Restaurant Business. As a result, Wendy's will likely close approximately 300 to 350 of its locations (5-6% of its total restaurants) across the United States. The company is also looking for a new CEO.
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If Smith wasn't a professional football player, he might not scoff at the Wendy's offer, which comes with a $100,000 salary,according to USA Today. But the 12-year NFL veteran stands to make much, much more on the free-agent market. (The Raiders are reportedly exploring possible trades, but other teams likely won't want to pay Smiththe $26.5 million salaryon his current contract.)
Among the teams reported to be interested are the Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets. Even if he signs a minimum contract, he'll likely make at least $1.3 million.
Smith didn't leave it at that reply, either. He followed up with two more posts taking shots at Wendy's.
"Out here selling poison trying to get jokes off on twitter," he said inthe first one. "Society in shambles."
Responding to a fan saying there was "beef" between Smith and Wendy's,the QB responded, "This beef is about as real as the beef in those patties they're selling."
Is it safe to say that Wendy's missed while Smith hit his target several times? He's a career 65.2% percent passer, after all, and is two seasons removed from completing 70.4% of his throws for the Seattle Seahawks.
So Wendy's will probably have to look elsewhere for its Chief Tasting Officer. Although if he was willing to sample products on camera, Smith surely couldn't do worse than McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski, whowent viral this weekfor appearing less than enthused while tasting the chain's new "Big Arch" burger.
That prompted CEOs from competing fast-food chains,including Wendy's, to respond. Perhaps that had the Wendy's social media account feeling emboldened enough to tag Smith and get smacked online in return.
