By Mary Cunningham
So, Mark Sanchez is psyched to compete for the Eagles’ starting quarterback job when training camp opens in just over two months.
Good for him!
Competition is the essence of sports, and I would be surprised if Sanchez weren’t confident.
However, if the 2014 season taught us anything (it is not that you can kill anyone, that’s from The Godfather!), it is that if Mark Sanchez is under center when the season opens the Eagles will have regressed from their 10-6, no playoffs finish last season.
When the draft ended without the Eagles trading Sam Bradford , it seemed like a pretty good sign that he’ll be the starting quarterback come September.
After all, the Eagles traded Nick Foles and a second-round pick in 2016 for the right to acquire Bradford and pay him just under $13 million for the 2015 season.
Sanchez re-signed with the Eagles this offseason and “absolutely” thinks that he’s going to have a real chance to compete for the starting job this offseason.
“Really just talking with coach Kelly and knowing I’m coming with the opportunity to compete for the starting job,” Sanchez said, via CSN Philly. “That was important to me. There were some other opportunities out there, but I didn’t want to switch systems again. On a one-year deal, it’s different for maybe a defensive player then for an offensive player, especially a quarterback. You’ve got to learn a whole new language again. I started to feel real comfortable and I felt like to be honest, personally, there’s some unfinished business we left out there. I know I can play a little bit better than that. I know we can get this team in the playoffs. I think we have the talent to do that.”
There are echoes of Sanchez’s Jets days to the setup and not just because Tim Tebowi s on the Philly roster. Sanchez may well have a chance at the starting job this summer, but not all competitions are created equal. Sanchez should have learned as much through competitions with Tebow, Geno Smith and even Kellen Clemens that were never about giving everyone an equal shot.
Paying what the Eagles did to get Bradford doesn’t make too much sense if you weren’t under the impression he was a better quarterback than Sanchez, who had already re-signed with the team when the trade went down. It may not wind up working out that way, but it seems a good bet that Bradford will get plenty of chances to prove he’s the wrong guy.
