Mark Sanchez trade? New York Jets general manager John Idzik and Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik continue to discuss a trade involving All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis and a very interesting name has surfaced in those talks.
According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, the two sides have discussed the possibility of including quarterback Mark Sanchez in a trade centered around Revis.
Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano has not been shy about his desire to increase the competition at the quarterback position this offseason, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Apparently, Schiano is not sold on Josh Freeman, who was selected 12 spots behind Sanchez in the 2009 draft and is coming off a season where he established career-highs for passing yards (4,065) and passing touchdowns (27).
Meanwhile, Sanchez is clearly not the franchise quarterback the Jets thought he would be when they traded up to the No. 5 spot in the 2009 NFL draft to select him coming out of USC. Sanchez may have been the starting quarterback of a team that went to the playoffs his first two seasons in the NFL, but his production plummeted in 2012 as he completed just 54.3 percent of his pass attempts for 2,883 yards with 13 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. Sanchez also lost eight fumbles was benched in favor of 2011 seventh-round pick Greg McElroy late in the season.
If it weren't for the $8.25 million in fully guaranteed base salary that Sanchez is due in 2013, he likely would have been released this offseason.
According to NFLPA records, the Buccaneers have $32.844 million in available cap space, which is the second-highest amount in the league and more than enough to take on $8.75 million for Sanchez, who has a $500,000 offseason workout bonus in addition to his enormous base salary. However, the Buccaneers have been a budget-conscious team in recent seasons — Tampa Bay is the only NFL team to not issue a signing bonus this offseason — and spending nearly $9 million for one season of a backup quarterback would be a peculiar use of their cash and cap space, both of which would be better spent on a new contract for Revis or rolled over in 2014 (and future seasons).
The only way acquiring Sanchez makes sense for the Buccaneers would be if taking on that salary somehow lowered the Jets' asking price for Revis, which appears unlikely. The Jets are holding firm on their demands for the No. 13 overall pick, which for them, is a far more suitable return for a premier asset like Revis.
