If there was any question just how dire the Denver Broncos' situation at quarterback was after Peyton Manning's retirement and Brock Osweiler's unexpected free agency departure, GM John Elway made it plenty clear when he traded a draft pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for backup quarterback and butt fumbler-extraordinaire, Mark Sanchez, on Friday.
Sanchez, a former first-round pick of the New York Jets during the heady days of Rex Ryan, has been the back up in Philly for the past two seasons.
Now, he'll have a chance to lay claim to the starting gig in Denver after Elway sent a conditional 2017 seventh-round pick to the Eagles in exchange for the Sanchize's services.
Then again, any talk of a Sanchez-led Broncos team in 2016 may be a bit premature. Shortly after the news broke of the deal, Elway took to Twitter and called the trade just the first step in the Broncos' "process."
Acquired QB Mark Sanchez for a conditional '17 pick. He brings veteran leadership & will compete. This is the 1st step in our process.
— John Elway (@johnelway) March 11, 2016
In all reality, Elway likely entered this offseason operating under the assumption that that "process" would start and end with Osweiler. The team gave Manning the time he needed to make a final decision - the public relations blowback that would ensue from trying to lock up Osweiler while Manning, who just helped the team to a Super Bowl 50 victory, was still considering playing likely would have been both swift and fierce.
So Elway played it slow with Osweiler, while waiting on Manning. And only when Manning had ultimately decided to call it quits did the Broncos turn their attention to Osweiler, the former second-round pick and Denver's longtime heir apparent. Only by that point, Osweiler, apparently still steaming from the late-season benching that allowed Manning to helm the Broncs' successful playoff run, was no longer interested in listening.
And when he signed his mammoth four-year, $76 million deal with the Houston Texans, it left Denver and Elway with little in the way of palatable options.
Sanchez, talented though he may be, and successful though he was early in his career with the Jets, has proven himself an erratic, turnover-prone player. He's athletic and has strong a lockerroom personality, but it simply hasn't translated to on-field success, especially in recent years.
During his time in Philly, Sanchez started 10 games, collecting a 4-6 record. He managed an absurdly high completion percentage (64.3), playing in former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly's up-tempo offense, but he also fumbled away several opportunities at nabbing the starting gig.
With the Eagles and GM Howie Roseman re-signing Sam Bradford for big money and locking up Doug Pederson acolyte Chase Daniel with a three-year deal, it seemed only a matter of time before Sanchez was shown the door.
And with Elway's growing desperation, Roseman clearly saw an opportunity to unload Sanchez's $4.5 million cap hit, while saving the Eagles the $1 million it would have cost them to simply cut the altogether uninspiring signal-caller.
