Just like with other rookies across the NFL, Geno Smith has been doing quite well in the rookie minicamp, making a lot of people among decision makers for the New York Jets think about giving the former West Virginia star the starting quarterback position for next season, pushing Mark Sanchez out of the way.

If the Jets had a chance to get rid of Sanchez, they would have done it by now. His last couple of seasons – especially 2012, have been very disappointing. He threw for only 13 touchdowns last season while throwing 18 interceptions, finishing with the worst advanced passing numbers for his career. While Rex Ryan was a strong supporter of him in the quarterback battle last season, things have changed.

Maybe because Ryan, mostly known for his defensive prowess, knows that there isn’t a lot of chances to succeed next year. The Jets are in critical rebuilding mode, and have hardly put any money to make free agency signings, instead trying to load up on as many draft picks as possible for the next couple of years, as the Darrelle Revis trade showed everyone. Winning now isn’t a very likely option, and it’s better to give a promising prospect like Smith the chance to develop, which he has shown to have the potential to do, instead of putting the ball in the hands of someone who has been a huge disappointment for quite some time.

Even David Garrard, who has been out of the league for a little while, seems that he might be in a better position than Sanchez to start next year. Sanchez just looked worse and worse as the season progressed, maybe hurting from all the talk about him and the safety of him keeping his job, and that talk isn’t going to change in this off-season.

Words and whispers of the Jets’ plans are coming out of their facilities – unless Sanchez blows the rest of the competition out of the water, they might start looking for a trading partner, ready to give him away for a very low draft pick in 2014.