The Jets still haven’t made a firm decision on their future at quarterback, but a former New York signal caller wants to see one made “immediately.”
Mark Sanchez, who helped the Jets to two AFC Championship appearances, appeared on “Get Up” Friday morning and expressed his desire to see Sam Darnold freed from Jets purgatory, as Darnold continues to wait through an offseason of endless trade rumors.
“He’s gotta get to a quarterback-friendly system and a quarterback-friendly coach immediately,” Sanchez said. “He doesn’t want to get caught…with the Jets, ‘Yes we like you, no we don’t’ while they’re trying to find his replacement. They just gotta do something fast to get them out of there.”
Sanchez, a fellow USC alum like Darnold, experienced many highs and lows in his Jets career, and dealt with plenty of criticism despite being one of the faces of the franchise’s last true window of contention. He would like to see Darnold out of New York rather than continuing to be an experiment for the Jets, who are still discussing whether to trade Darnold for a quarterback, draft one at No. 2 or try him for one more season.
“The problem is, and I know this market, I’ve lived the highs and the lows, he has too short of a leash right now,” Sanchez said. “They need him to make plays that he’s incapable of making because he doesn’t have the supporting cast, and as soon as he goes 3-and-out two times this year, his ass is getting booed out of the stadium. That’s not fair to the kid to do that.”
Sanchez still believes in Darnold, who threw for nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season, and would like to see him given a true chance on a team with weapons that can help his growth. But he doesn’t see that happening on a Jets team that went 2-14 last season.
“Sam Darnold is more than capable,” Sanchez said. “The issue with Sam Darnold was the supporting cast last year. So I don’t care who you bring in at quarterback for the New York Jets, they need help. That position, more than anything, more than any sport…needs help.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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