The Mark Sanchez redemption tour is officially in full swing. After a fall from grace with the New York Jets, the former first-round draft pick signed on with the Philadelphia Eagles as a backup in hopes of rebuilding his reputation. Sanchez struggled in his final two seasons with New York causing the team to move on from him after a shoulder injury kept him out a full season. However, the Eagles like what they are seeing from the quarterback which is a good thing since he is now their starter for at least a month.
Sanchez stepped on the field to replace Nick Foles against the Houston Texans and immediately tossed a 52-yard touchdown. Sanchez finished the day going 15 of 22 for 202 passing yards along with two touchdowns and two interceptions. His numbers were strong for a quarterback that has barely seen the field all year. Sanchez might want to get comfortable in that role since it is no permanent. Head coach Chip Kelly announced that Foles suffered a broken collarbone in the first quarterback against the Texans and could miss a good portion of the rest of the season. However, Kelly has full confidence that Sanchez can carry the team in his absence.
"I said since day one that you better have two quarterbacks in this league," Kelly said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I don't think we missed a beat offensively."
Sanchez proved with a little bit of talent surrounding him, he can be a quality quarterback. The Eagles have a star running back in LeSean McCoy along with a very talented wide receivers group and a strong offensive line for the quarterback to work with. The New York Jets did not offer up those options for Sanchez, causing things to be a little difficult for the quarterback. If Sanchez can prove to be a successful option at quarterback, his stock will go up in the offseason. So who makes a play for him?
The Oakland Raiders might be an option. The team is likely to part ways with Matt Schaub at the end of the season considering that experiment failed. Derek Carr continues to learn that life as a rookie is difficult. He has yet to get his first win in the NFL and the Raiders might opt to sit him and let the quarterback develop while Sanchez takes over the spot.
The Houston Texans could show interest. It is very clear that Ryan Fitzpatrick is not the answer. Ryan Mallett is in the final year of his contract. No one has seen Tom Savage. If the Texans let Mallett walk into free agency, they could target Sanchez who would love to throw the ball to Andre Johnson.
Kelly made it known at the start of the season that Sanchez was available at the right price. The Eagles have Matt Barkley as an option and when Foles returns healthy, Sanchez could have some teams calling him about a deal.
