Mark Sanchez signed on with the Philadelphia Eagles to attempt to revitalize his NFL career after getting released by the New York Jets following a season-ending shoulder injury. Sanchez's stock had taken a steep drop after back-to-back seasons of inconsistencies in New York. The preseason shoulder injury was simply the final straw that pushed him out of the Big Apple. Now in Philadelphia, Sanchez has been quietly bouncing back without all of the media attention on him. However, that is all changing now as an injury to Sam Bradford has the spotlight on Sanchez.
The St. Louis Rams have officially lost Bradford for the season after the quarterback re-tore his ACL during Saturday's preseason game. Head coach Jeff Fisher told the media on Sunday that right now, veteran Shaun Hill was the starting quarterback and he had total faith in the veteran. However, behind Hill leaves a lot to be desired. The Rams must consider making a trade, putting the focus on every backup quarterback with an expiring contract.
According to NFL.com, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has already stated that while the team was not actively shopping Sanchez in a trade, they would be answering the call if a deal came their way. Could the Rams be calling? Sanchez has looked solid in the extremely limited time he has received on the field as he mixes in reps with starter Nick Foles and Matt Barkley. According to Eagles general manager Pat Shurmur, teams should be interested in Sanchez because he looks strong.
"I think everybody should be interested in Mark Sanchez," Shurmur said, via CSN Philly. "He's done a good job [and] played well for us. He's won a lot of football games in the league. I've said it before: He was sitting in the locker room at halftime of two AFC Championship Games [with a lead]."
Connect the dots and a trade of Sanchez makes sense. The Eagles do not need him with Foles and Barkley on the roster. However, the biggest dot is Brian Shottenheimer, the current Rams' offensive coordinator who was with the Jets during Sanchez's tenure. He could easily be pushing a deal for the quarterback having plenty of familiarity with his skillset.
Shurmur is perfectly happy keeping Sanchez as the Eagles' backup quarterback. He believes that puts the team in the best position to be competitive in 2014. However, if Fisher comes with interest, the Eagles are expected to make a deal.