Mark Sanchez is Benched, So What Now?

 

Mark Sanchez is out as the starting quarterback for the New York Jets this week against the San Diego Chargers. Instead, Greg McElroy will be getting his first NFL start. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean Sanchez’s career with the Jets is over.

Mike Tannenbaum gave Sanchez a five-year, $58.25 million contract with $20.5 million guaranteed, including his entire 2013 salary which is currently slated to be $8.25 million. That is a large chunk of salary to eat for a player that wouldn’t be contributing to the team and the Jets don’t have a ton of cap room to play with.

The best option would be for the Jets to trade Sanchez but what team would give up something useful for a quarterback that might not be anything more than a backup moving forward. So if the Jets can’t cut Sanchez and can’t find a taker via trade, what do they do with Sanchez?

To complicate matters, Tim Tebow is owed $2.5 million next season. Tebow might be the easiest one to trade but he seems to be a favorite of owner Woody Johnson, which makes it hard on Tannenbaum or a new general manager.

There is a realistic possibility that Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow could be back for another round in the main ring of the circus.

Yes, that’s right, Jets fans, this might not be over. The Jets are between a rock and a hard place. Sanchez is the rock, the immovable object and Tebow is the hard place, an object that can be moved but is glued down by the desire of the owner to have him on the team and Johnson has stated the Jets will honor their end of the bargain.

If you thought this season was a roller coaster of emotion and intrigue, just wait for the off-season sequel coming. There will be no shortage of drama coming from Florham Park.