Mark Sanchez finds support from New York Jets GM
- By Marc Sessler
- Around the League Writer
John Idzik, the Jets' new general manager, has inherited issues under center, but said he's willing to let Mark Sanchez compete for the job.
"I feel comfortable with Mark being a Jet," Idzik told WFAN-AM on Monday, per ESPNNewYork.com's Rich Cimini. "I told him we're going to add competition and everyone should be up for it. It's going to make Mark, and everybody else, better."
Idzik told the station Sanchez is "champing at the bit. He wants to get going with his new coordinator. He's all about competing. I got a really good feeling from Mark."
Pretty words aside, there's only one direction for Idzik to move in. Cutting Sanchez would cost the Jets a whopping $12.8 million cap hit, not a setback New York can afford. The Jets are roughly $20 million over the cap -- a dilemma Idzik labeled a "huge item" -- meaning Sanchez has a spot on the roster no matter what in 2013.
What the four-year pro does with that opportunity is anyone's guess. Sanchez was not well protected last season, but his decision-making under pressure was disastrous. His early glory of guiding the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship Games has dimmed, and the team would certainly steer in another direction if Sanchez hadn't been handed a massive guaranteed contract.
It's just one of the many issues Idzik has inherited in a never-dull Florham Park.
http://espn.go.com/b...vis-not-sanchez
Idzik still hedges on Revis, not Sanchez
January, 28, 2013
Jan 28
9:25
AM ET
By Rich Cimini | ESPNNewYork.com
New Jets GM John Idzik said Monday morning he was "taken aback" by the Darrelle Revis trade-talk firestorm last week because he hadn't conducted any internal discussions on the Jets' roster -- and still hasn't -- but he apparently doesn't need those conversations to confirm Mark Sanchez's place on the team.
Go ahead, read between the lines.
Idzik, appearing on WFAN radio, was asked if he feels "comfortable" with Sanchez as the quarterback. He replied, "I feel comfortable with Mark being a Jet. I told him we're going to add competition and everyone should be up for it. It's going to make Mark, and everybody else, better."
Idzik said he has spoken to Sanchez, and he said the embattled quarterback is "champing at the bit. He wants to get going with his new coordinator. He's all about competing. I got a really good feeling from Mark."
Sanchez has a $12.8 million cap charge and a contract that is almost immovable, so it's not exactly breaking news that Idzik would confirm his place on the roster. Yet when asked about Revis, the best player on the team and one of the best in the league, Idzik fell back on the company line -- still too early to evaluate. He said he still hasn't had any in-depth discussions about the roster.
Idzik said he was surprised by the reports, which broke on the eve of his introductory news conference last Thursday, that the Jets are open to trading Revis.
"I called Darrelle just to make sure he knew exactly what was going on from our end," Idzik said. "It was good to talk to him. I thought it was well-received."
Idzik touched on a few other topics in the interview.
On the salary-cap problem (almost $20 million over the cap), he said, "It's definitely a huge item, right at the forefront, but it's nothing we can't manage."
Idzik hinted he could take a revolving-door approach to the roster. He mentioned his former team, the Seahawks, noting that in Pete Carroll's first season (2010), "I'd be willing to bet we set the record for NFL transactions in a year. We were massaging that roster pretty good the entire year." He said competition will be an ongoing theme.
Idzik said Rex Ryan has "extraordinary traits" and, when pressed, he said he would've had no problem hiring Ryan if the head-coaching position had been vacant. "Yeah, absolutely, you'd want a guy like Rex."
He said he was "comfortable" with Ryan's choice of Marty Mornhinweg as offensive coordinator, adding that he has "trust in Rex" and talked with him throughout the selection process.
Edited by Jetsfan80, 28 January 2013 - 10:49 AM.
