The list of people that have faith in Mark Sanchez as a starting quarterback might be very short. The former New York Jets starter does not even know if his own team supports his future as a quarterback. However, as Sanchez prepares to make his return following a shoulder injury, one person on his side is Pete Carroll.
Carroll is very familiar with the talents of Sanchez. The two made a perfect pair while at Southern California. Carroll got most of the credit for developing Sanchez. During Super Bowl Media Day, the Seattle Seahawks head coach was asked about his former player's future with the Jets and in the NFL in general. Carroll remained very optimistic that Sanchez could return a better player than before.
"Mark has everything ahead of him," Carroll said, via ESPN New York. "As often happens when you get the break, when you get to take a step back and observe and analyze and assess what's going on, you come back even stronger. I think that's what will happen with Mark. Hopefully, for him, it'll happen in New York. Wherever he winds up after that, if that doesn't work out, Mark is a good football player. I think he'll be better than ever."
2013 was a wash for Sanchez. The quarterback was supposed to be the starting quarterback, until the Jets drafted rookie Geno Smith. The two quarterbacks competed throughout the entire preseason. Sanchez looked poised to win the job until head coach Rex Ryan left him in a preseason game too long and he injured his throwing shoulder and landed on injured reserve.
Now, Sanchez's future is in question even more as his contract does not work in his favor. Smith did enough during the season to likely earn another chance at being the starter. Meanwhile, Sanchez is under contract through 2016 with a $13.1 million salary cap charge. The Jets will likely attempt to trade him prior to March 25 when a $2 million roster bonus is due to the quarterback. Releasing Sanchez would clear $8.3 million in cap space and would free up room for the Jets to sign a few more players.
Carroll might not have endorsed Sanchez's NFL future when the quarterback left USC a year early, but he is singing a different tune now. Hey, Sanchez could always go play backup for Russell Wilson. Tarvaris Jackson is set to become a free agent as well.
