New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is listed as "day to day" after sustaining a shoulder injury during Saturday night's preseason game. Fed up with questions about the starter, Jets coach Rex Ryan threw a mini-tantrum during his postgame news conference, USA Today Sports reports.
Ryan chose to put his incumbent starter into the team's third preseason game during the fourth quarter. Sanchez went 5-of-6 for 72 yards before a scramble out of the pocket resulted in a devastating hit from Giants defensive tackle Marvin Austin.
The 26-year-old completed the pass, but paid the price. Sanchez lay on the ground, grimacing in pain, before making his way off the field. After throwing a few passes on the sidelines, he decided he couldn't continue and left the field for X-rays.
Sanchez appeared surprised when he was told to go into the game; a source close to the situation told ESPN that Sanchez wasn't expecting to play on Saturday.
The Jets on Sunday said Sanchez was "day to day" and wouldn't play on Thursday in the preseason finale, a game that he likely wouldn't have seen action in to begin with.
"Unfortunately, the best play that he makes, probably all of preseason, he ends up getting hurt on," Ryan said of the play Sanchez was injured on, via ESPN.
Postgame questions inevitably turned to why Ryan would put Sanchez into a meaningless game. Ryan defended his decision to play Sanchez, citing the quarterback competition.
"We talked about the [quarterback] competition, and that was something that I felt was important," Ryan said. "If it wasn't important, then I wouldn't have put him in there. I would not have put Mark in if it wasn't important."
Ryan didn't take well to being asked about Week 1's starter. After declining to name a starter, he appeared to lose patience and turn petulant.
"I can say anything I want," Ryan said, according to USA Today Sports. "That's the beauty of this country. I'll stand backwards and answer the question. I'm going sideways. We'll make the announcement when I think it's the appropriate time."
The Jets' future now is even more in doubt. While Idzik was rumored to be willing to give Geno Smith the starting job, the rookie's performance on Saturday left much to be desired. In a performance reminiscent of Sanchez's over the past two seasons, Smith turned the ball over four times - including three interceptions.
Smith is a rookie with upside, but Saturday's game adds to the mounting evidence that he isn't ready to take the starting reins in Week 1.
