Jets Likely to Trade Sanchez in Favor of Younger QB Smith?
After months of speculation and a rough season in 2012, it appears Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is nearing the end of his tenure with the New York franchise.
Jets personnel have stocked up on quarterbacks this off season as insurance from their inconsistent team leader with the pickups of rookie QB Geno Smith and veteran David Garrard.
According to Jets beat-writer Brain Costello, the organization is very impressed with Smith's "zip" on his passes, and his willingness to learn as he called several team-only meetings to learn some of the Jets plays.
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The Jets are looking to right the ship after a string of disappointing seasons with Sanchez at the helm of the offense, with the main cause of his problems being turnovers– 52 in the last two seasons to be exact.
Sanchez is still owed $8.75 million, but the Jets wouldn't mind trading him off to another team in order to try out the rookie-veteran pairing of Smith and Garrard and is even willing to chalk up $6 million of the contract, reported The New York Post.
Peter King of SI.com says Sanchez could make it out of training camp, but could be cut right before Week 1. This gives them plenty of time to see if Garrard can stay healthy at 35 years old and if Smith can figure out an NFL offense. It's similar to the way the New York Giants used Kurt Warner to mentor the rookie Eli Manning before handing the reigns over in 2004.
One member of the Jets, Santonio Holmes, spoke out on the quarterback situation last week to the NY Daily News: "Right now, Sanchez. That's what we're going with ... he's going to continue being Mark Sanchez, the team leader. (He's) just focused on helping the team."
Other quarterbacks in contention for making the team are Greg McElroy and Matt Sims. Tim Tebow was also in the mix until he was cut last week in a much publicized and controversial stay with the Jets.
