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Jason La Canfora wrote a column for CBSSports.com about the most underpaid and overpaid NFL players. Several Jets made the overpaid list . . .
“Oh, and Jets fans, my apologies,” wrote La Canfora. “The reckless spending of the former regime there continues to cast a pall over the franchise, though, new GM John Idzik will be able to extricate himself out of most of this mess by 2014.”
Well put. Yes, the Jets cap mess should be in the rear-view mirror in 2014, with Mark Sanchez (unless he turns it around)) and Santonio Holmes likely out of the picture.
Let’s start our look at the La Canfora feature with what he said about Sanchez, and then break it down.
“We all know the story by now: Jets management tried to create cap room and prop up Sanchez’s sagging confidence and boost him for the arrival of Tebow Time in New York by rewarding the struggling quarterback with a fat contract extension,” wrote La Canfora. “The deal came complete with some of the worst guaranteed-money contract language ever written (at least from a team’s perspective). It made Sanchez un-cut-able and virtually un-trade-able.”
Very well put.
True the Jets cleared some cap space in 2012 by extending Sanchez. But honestly, they should have just let him play out his rookie deal, even if it was bad for their cap last year.
The re-structured contract/extension made no sense on so many levels.
First of all, you NEVER give a player more guaranteed money coming off a bad season. Fundamentally, that makes NO sense.
Secondly, you aren’t going to will a player play better by throwing more money at him. It just doesn’t work that way.
There is a very good chance the only reason Mark Sanchez is still in the quarterback conversation, with a new GM in town, is because of that contract.
How on earth is Idzik going to tell Woody Johnson – “Woody, I want you to eat the $9 million we owe this guy – let’s just move on.”
He’s not going to do that.
And it’s funny how things work out in life.
Now that David Garrard is out of the picture due to his retirement for medical reasons, and Greg McElroy not being included in the QB competition, Sanchez is the leading candidate to be the Jets’ starter.
Geno Smith isn’t ready. He’s got a lot of potential, but he’s not instant coffee – he has a lot of work to do physically and mentally – a lot.
I don’t know how anybody can make a strong argument saying that Smith should start over Sanchez in Week One.
Unless, you are a fan willing to say, “Let’s just let the kid learn on the job, and not worry about the record this year.”
Honestly, do you think that Rex Ryan would sign up for that? While I don’t consider him a lame duck since he is under contract in 2104 for a guaranteed $3 million, it’s obvious he needs a good showing this year to impress the new GM who inherited him.
Now, Gary Myers has written several times that perhaps starting Smith could be good for Ryan’s good security because it gives him an excuse for not having a great record this year.
I understand what Gary is saying, but I just don’t know if Johnson and Idzik will be able to justify keeping Rex after what would be three bad seasons in a row.
So it’s funny how what goes around comes around.
That bad contract, and some other factors, now put Sanchez in the catbird seat to be the starting quarterback this year.
That awful contract made the Jets keep him around, and now it’s up to him to make the most of it.
But that doesn’t justify one of the worst contract decisions in Jets history.
June 6, 2013
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