After missing an entire season, Mark Sanchez was released by the New York Jets and he’s already getting some interest to be a backup quarterback, as the St. Louis Rams seem to be the first team taking a look at the option of signing him.
Sanchez, 27, has been in the NFL since 2009. He began his career with two back-to-back AFC Championship game appearances, including four road wins in the playoffs. But his last two starting years with the Jets didn’t end in playoffs, and his last season amid the entire Tim Tebow festival didn’t do well for his career, as his numbers dropped in almost every category, and Sanchez failed to show any kind of progress in almost every important and less category.
But it doesn’t mean his NFL Career is over. He was slated to be the starter for the Jets in 2013, but a shoulder injury in a preseason game led to surgery and an end to his season. Now he’s ready to return, and it seems that the Rams have genuine interest in making him a backup to Sam Bradford, who might not even be ready to start next season, still recovering from an ACL injury.
The Rams’ offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, was part of that Jets coaching staff during Sanchez’ good years, which meant winning, although his numbers were never too impressive, especially when accuracy was the subject of trying to decipher how good of a quarterback he really is.
Sanchez has completed 55.1% of his passes throughout his career, with 68 touchdowns and 69 interceptions. He is, however, 33-29 as a starter, which means he isn’t that bad and there’s more to him than just numbers, although some might say it’s simply being on a good team with a good defense that helped him win those games and do well in the postseason.
The Rams don’t plan to unseat Bradford as their starting quarterback, but they don’t have anyone but Anthony Davis backing him up. Adding Sanchez might create some competition (which isn’t always good), but it gives them a backup with experience, something quite important when your starter is injury prone.