By Jordan Long
NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez has called it a career after 10 years. He spent time with the New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins. He is now going to be a college football analyst for ESPN. Let’s take a look back at his time in the NFL.
Sanchez was drafted by the New York Jets 5th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. The Jets were looking for a franchise quarterback and hoped Sanchez was going to be the signal caller for years to come.
In his rookie year, Sanchez passed for 2,444 yards and 12 touchdowns. The problem was sacks. Sanchez wasn’t protecting the football. The Jets weren’t able to protect him, causing Sanchez to be sacked 26 times. Those pressures by the defense forced Sanchez into 20 interceptions and 8 fumbles. Despite Sanchez’s quarterback play, the Jets made the postseason and went all the way to the AFC Championship Game but lost to the Indianapolis colts.
The next year, the Jets were expected not only to make the postseason, but reach the Super Bowl. Sanchez passed for 3,291 yards that year with 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The offensive line allowed 27 sacks and he ended up with 5 fumbles. The Jets reached the AFC Championship Game but were knocked off by the Pittsburgh Steelers. This would be the last time they made the playoffs with Sanchez.
Sanchez’s top year for the Jets was 2011. He finished with a career high 3,474 passing yards and 26 touchdowns. Sanchez was still forcing the ball downfield into double coverage which equaled 18 interceptions. He was going to be the starter for the Jets in 2013 but injured his throwing shoulder in the 3rd preseason game against the New York Giants, ending his season.
The Jets decided to let him walk at the end of 2013. He was a free agent. The Philadelphia Eagles decided to give him a shot. He was going to be in the mix to be the starter with Nick Foles, Matt Barkley, and G.J. Kinne. Sanchez started 8 games that year for the Eagles but went 4-4. The Eagles benched him in favor of Nick Foles who went 6-2. In 2015 Sanchez went 0-2 for the Eagles. It was time for him to move on.
In the 2016 off-season, Sanchez agreed to a contract with the Denver Broncos. Denver was looking for a veteran quarterback to challenge Trevor Siemian since Brock Osweiler agreed to go to Houston. Sanchez struggled in preseason games and the Broncos named Trevor Siemian the starter. Denver released Sanchez on September 3rd, 2016. He wasn’t out of work long, joining the Dallas Cowboys. In 2017 he went to Chicago but didn’t play a down.
Last year, Sanchez was in Washington to backup Colt McCoy. They needed a quarterback after Alex Smith broke his leg on November 19, 2018. Sanchez appeared in 2 games with 138 passing yards and 3 interceptions. Washington saw enough and didn’t want to offer him a contract at the end of the season.
Sanchez saw the writing on the wall and decided it was best for him to leave the game. He finishes his career with 15,357 passing yards and 86 touchdowns. Sanchez was never able to read defenses and couldn’t hold onto the football with a total of 89 interceptions and 31 fumbles. Sanchez is most remembered for the “butt fumble” which occurred on Thanksgiving Night against the New England Patriots. He ran into offensive lineman Brandon Moore and lost the ball right as he was about to hit the ground. New England ran in for a touchdown to increase their lead to 21-0, a game they eventually won 49-19.
Sanchez is retiring on his own terms. Sanchez is now going to be part of college football on ESPN. He knows the game and hopefully Sanchez will show his knowledge.
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