Geno Smith took the reins on Sunday as Mark Sanchez sat out with a shoulder injury.
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With his season likely done, Mark Sanchez appears to be cutting ties with the Jets or at the very least finally taking a shot at the franchise.
The Jets quarterback spoke in an interview with the NFL Network’s Rich Eisen on Thursday about his quarterback battle with rookie Geno Smith.
“I won the competition,” Sanchez told Eisen. “There’s no doubt.”
While some may snicker given his recent fall from grace among Jets fans, Sanchez’s headband might not be on all that tight.
On Aug. 7, a team source told Metro New York that Sanchez was ahead in his competition with Smith.
“Right now, Sanchez has a lead. It isn’t a huge lead and internally, I can tell you that the lead has gotten smaller and tighter,” the source told Metro at the time. “But he is ahead right now. He’s shown a command of the offense and is making better decisions. He isn’t as flashy as Smith, he doesn’t make your eyes pop out like the rookie does, but he commands things better.”
Smith started his first NFL game this past Sunday in an 18-17 win over the Buccaneers. He was relatively solid but he earned accolades for a fourth-quarter performance that included a drive to set up Nick Folk’s game-winning field goal.
Sanchez is left to decide if a shoulder injury suffered in the fourth quarter of the third preseason game will sideline him for the rest of the year. Sanchez has yet to practice and reports on Thursday indicate he has not yet decided on whether to have shoulder surgery at this juncture.
Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.
