Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow stood about 25 feet away from each other in the Jets locker room Wednesday looking glum as they addressed the team’s quarterback situation and fielded questions about their future.
Both wore the look of a man who would rather be anywhere else.
Since March 21 when the Jets acquired Tebow from the Broncos many suspected a moment like this would come when the entire quarterback experiment would explode in the faces of coach Rex Ryan, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and Woody Johnson.
The part no one foresaw — including the Jets quarterbacks — was that Greg McElroy, a seventh-round pick making $400,000, would be the one starting Sunday against the Chargers and the two first-round picks making millions would be sent to the bench.
The Jets could teach a class in how to screw up the quarterback position based on what they have done.
Right now they have a starting quarterback in McElroy no one in the organization envisions being a long-term solution. They have Sanchez, a player once thought of as a franchise quarterback who now looks like he has no confidence. And then there’s Tebow, who is bewildered why the team traded for him and clearly wants out.
More importantly to Jets fans, the team’s decision makers seem to be operating without a plan.
Getting answers from the Jets on how all of this happened is nearly impossible. Ryan has morphed into Eric Mangini, talking in circles and never giving a direct answer. Tannenbaum has declined to comment about the team’s quarterback switch. A source said the decision to go with McElroy is because he’s simply playing better than Tebow on the practice field.
It is hard to diagnose what the Jets will do in 2013 because it is unclear who will be making the call. Tannenbaum could be fired after this season, and Ryan looks like a defeated man who could be on his way out, too.
“I just kind of made a decision that in my gut I feel that the best thing for our football team is for Greg to be our quarterback now and that’s how I feel about it,” said Ryan in a typical response yesterday, failing to shed any light on his thought process for leapfrogging McElroy over Tebow.
The Jets will see if there is any trade market for Sanchez, hoping someone will take him off their hands. But a source estimated the Jets would have to eat at least $6 million of his $8.25 million to get a deal done. A league source said there is no trade market for Sanchez.
League sources believe the Jets will keep Sanchez because of his price tag ($8.25 million guaranteed in 2013 and at least a $12.4 million cap hit if released) and bring in a veteran as well as someone through the draft to compete with him. Tebow is definitely gone after this year, and McElroy could be as well.
Sanchez now gets added to the list — with Richard Todd, Ken O’Brien, Browning Nagle and Chad Pennington — of quarterbacks drafted by the Jets with the hope he could be the team’s first true franchise quarterback since Joe Namath.
As recently as Nov. 2011, Ryan said Sanchez would be the starter for as long as he was the coach. Thirteen months, 11 losses and a rash of turnovers caused him to change his mind. People in the organization who have supported him since Day 1 are perplexed at why he has regressed since 2010.
Ryan shook his head yesterday when asked if the team misjudged Sanchez’s ability when it took him with the fifth pick three years ago.
“It’s not like he doesn’t have the tools to do it,” Ryan said. “That’s why we did take him with the fifth overall pick.”
The Jets are limited in whom they can bring in because they are going to have salary cap issues in 2013 and already have a $12 million cap figure at the position with Sanchez, even if he is cut.
A source said the idea of Michael Vick, who is expected to be released by the Eagles, coming to the Jets is highly unlikely if Sanchez remains with the team. Vick should command at least $10 million per season, too hefty a price tag for the Jets. Vick also sees himself as a starter. He is not interested in a competition.
Alex Smith could be the answer. The 49ers are expected to dump him in favor of Colin Kaepernick. League sources said Smith should get around $5 million per year as a free agent.
In the draft, the Jets probably would not use a first-round pick on a quarterback with tons of other needs. Tyler Wilson of Arkansas is a possibility in the second round.
McElroy is the eighth starting quarterback since 2004 for the Jets. The Patriots and Giants have had two each in that time with Matt Cassel starting for an injured Tom Brady in 2008 for New England and Kurt Warner starting Manning’s rookie year as the quarterback.
The Jets’ Super Bowl drought has now hit 44 years with no end in sight thanks to uncertainty at quarterback. The Jets have found a way to have three quarterbacks and still make it feel like they have none.