Mark Sanchez will probably be a cap casualty this offseason.
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Jets fans will likely know the fate of Mark Sanchez in a matter of days. But former Jets linebacker Bart Scott thinks a change in scenery might be best for his former teammate.
Scott joined the Jets the same year the team traded up to make Sanchez the fifth player taken in the 2009 NFL Draft. After an initial two years when he led the Jets to consecutive AFC Championship game appearances and a season in 2011 that ranks among the best in franchise passing records, the wheels came off. He went from being the Sanchise to being run out of town.
Reports have Sanchez on the verge of getting cut, a fate Scott endured following the 2012 season.
“It’s the cost of doing business in New York,” Scott told Metro. “When things don’t work out, you have to go out and get rid of the old regime. And when I say old regime I mean myself, [nose tackle Sione] Pouha, [Calvin] Pace had to restructure. You have to go out and get young. Can Sanchez go out and be a player in this league? Absolutely. For me, right now, he’d be one of the top backups in the league.”
Scott, who spent last year with the CBS Sports Network before accepting a coveted job with CBS on the “NFL Today” pregame show, was almost ready for his own comeback attempt. He told Metro New York he had a tryout scheduled this month with an AFC team but when the CBS opportunity came along, he decided to jump at the television opportunity.
He doesn’t see television in the future for Sanchez, at least not quite yet. While the past two seasons have been a disappointment, including a preseason shoulder injury that cost him the entirety of the 2012 season, Scott sees Sanchez hanging around in the league for years to come.
And it includes carrying more than a clipboard.
“It doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of him. Remember Steve Young? Quarterbacks can play another 12 years in this league,” Scott said. “The story isn’t completed yet; the book isn’t even half-written yet. Hopefully he goes to a place where he has some weapons with great coaches, great coordinators and help continue to develop him. I don’t think it is over for Mark. It just may not be New York for him right now.”
Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.
