Mark Sanchez has been here before. No, not in Denver, but when the New York Jets drafted Sanchez out of USC he was entering a competition to start at quarterback after an NFL legend had just departed.
Like Peyton Manning with the Denver Broncos, Brett Favre left the only team he had ever played for to join a team in win-now mode. Whereas the Broncos managed to win the Super Bowl with Manning, the Jets' one year with Favre was not as fruitful, but it was successful nonetheless.
Now Sanchez is back in familiar territory. When the Broncos open camp, Sanchez will have the opportunity to compete for the unenviable job of helming an offense previously run by one of the game's most brilliant QBs. Whoever the Broncos bring in to bolster their QB depth, Sanchez welcomes the challenge.
"C'mon, let's go, let's compete, man,'' Sanchez said of an interaction he had with Broncos general manager John Elway. "That's what he said on the phone and that was one of the first things John Elway said to me... I'm not going to let anything slow me down."
"I'm battled-tested, I've been through the fire," he added
After watching Manning retire and Brock Osweiler opt to sign elsewhere, the Broncos have seemingly been getting more serious about bringing in a QB by trade. But just when they were believed to be negotiating with the San Francisco 49ers for Colin Kaepernick, Elway pulled the trigger on the Sanchez trade.
After trading a conditional seventh-round draft pick to get Sanchez, the Broncos could still pull off a trade for Kaepernick. Even if Elway is done swapping draft picks for QBs, he could pursue free agents such as Robert Griffin III or Ryan Fitzpatrick, or he could target a passer in the middle or late rounds of the draft.
"Now, I'm in a lot of ways in control of my own destiny here," Sanchez said Monday. "To have that in my power for the first time in a few years, that's pretty special. And to see what this could be - I mean, it's incredible. Everything I've got, I'm pouring into this thing. I'm looking forward and I'm definitely not looking back."
