Quantcast
Jets release Mark Sanchez due to signing of Michael Vick – Metro US

Jets release Mark Sanchez due to signing of Michael Vick

Mark Sanchez Mark Sanchez’s rocky tenure with the Jets ended on Friday with his release.
Credit: Getty Images

Typical number of sessions to remove a moderate-sized tattoo: 20. Typical cost of laser tattoo removal: $2,000. The cap savings of cutting Mark Sanchez on Friday: $8.3 million.

There are some things money can’t buy for Jets head coach Rex Ryan — like removing the tattoo of your scantily clad wife in a No. 6 jersey from your right arm. For everything else, there is John Idzik, the Jets general manager who quietly cut Sanchez on Friday to clear salary cap space for the team.

The team used some of that space in the ensuing hours when they inked quarterback Michael Vick to a one-year deal.

Sanchez, who the Jets moved up to select No. 5 overall in the 2009 NFL Draft, spent five up-and-down seasons in New York. At his highwater mark, Sanchez led the Jets to consecutive AFC Championship game appearances in 2009 and 2010. At his low, his “Buttfumble” gaffe was run repeatedly on “SportsCenter” and he suffered a humiliating shoulder injury in preseason that cost him the entirety of last season.

“I’d like to thank Mark for everything he’s done for this team and me personally,” Ryan said in a statement released by the team. “We were rookies together and had some early success, becoming the first rookie head coach/quarterback to go to back-to-back championship games. We experienced a lot together and I really appreciate Mark, he’s a great player, a great teammate and I wish him nothing but the best.”

A team source tells Metro New York that Sanchez was not notified of the move until late on Friday night. The source also said that while the team was aware of the willingness on Sanchez’s part to restructure, that it was “never formerly discussed.”

It was clear early on the Jets had moved on from Sanchez, the source said.

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.