How Should the New York Jets Handle the Mark Sanchez Situation?

Dec. 30, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) throws the ball during the first half against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Mark Sanchez. What do the Jets do with this guy? You know how I feel about him as a quarterback, I am not writing this article to bludgeon you with my minority opinion of him. I’m not blind in my faith. He is a four-year starting quarterback that has many, many issues. He may be mentally finished here in NY. John Idzik’s non-committal answer to the question of whether Mark will be here for OTA’s, is evidence of the opinion that he doesn’t WANT Mark here for OTA’s.

Believe it or not, this article is coming from the perspective that Mark Sanchez will be off the team. Yes, all of my regular readers can pick their jaws off the floor now, as I am predicting Mark will be off the team. The front office, led by John Idzik, has moved on from Mark. There really is no way he is making the team at this point.

The question is, do you let him go sooner, or later? You can make a good argument either way.

Many people are saying to cut the cord now. Just move on from Mark Sanchez, the way they finally moved on from Tim Tebow earlier this week. There are a lot of good reasons to go that direction. For one, the Jets are moving into a new era. Gone are the “fast and loose” days of the Mike/Rex era, the circus is slowly but surely moving out-of-town. It’s a new day in Florham Park, NJ. Cutting the cord with the quarterback, and a face of that era, would do a lot to move forward into the new day.

Taking the dead money hit would do a lot to show that the Jets are more focused on winning than anything else. Yes, getting rid of Mark will give them a whole lot of dead money. But it’s not the end of the world. With all of the moves that the Indianapolis Colts made heading into last year, they had a great deal of dead money. How did that work out? They went from 1-15 to the playoffs. A team can survive with a significant amount of dead money. Ideal? No. But it will be OK.

There is also the mental factor with Mark. If the Jets believe that he cannot recover, why keep him around to compete? Give him a chance to find another job, even as a backup, somewhere around the league.

Maybe they should just cut their losses and let him go, now. But, what if we think about it another way.

There is a good argument to keep him into training camp. The argument? The injury factor.

Just the way the Seahawks held onto, and then traded Tavaris Jackson, late, the Jets could do the same with Mark Sanchez. If they do, it could serve them well.

Injuries happen every year. When they happen to a quarterback, the result is a team that is desperate. Even if they have their guy that they want to pencil in as a starter, they will be hurting for a backup. Whether you like Mark Sanchez or not, he was the quarterback than won four road playoff games, beating Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. He also led his team to two straight AFC title games.

Wouldn’t a team that is stuck with a bad injury be interested in bringing in a quarterback with that kind of resume? The odds would certainly be in their favor. Depending on the level of desperation, they might even have a team willing to pay part of the freight. Pipe dream? Maybe. But it’s possible. If the Jets hang onto him, the worst case scenario is that they release him during training camp, and they are not any worse off.

My opinion? Keep him into training camp. The reward could be quite high, and the risk is not great. They will not be any worse off if they hang onto him in to camp.

What do you guys think?