Even though Mark Sanchez isn’t currently on an NFL roster, he’s still probably been one of the league’s most recognizable players over the past decade. Over that span, he’s consistently been in the NFL fan’s consciousness. But his name showed up today in an unlikely place … the suspended list.
Sanchez has been suspended for the first four games of the 2018 season for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy.
NFL QB Mark Sanchez just text me his full statement on his 4-game suspension for PEDs. Sanchez cites unknown “supplement contamination.” pic.twitter.com/jz1TnbwbVA
— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) April 13, 2018
The backup QB’s looming suspension may be a reason why he’s still unsigned. Either he knew it was coming and told teams, teams got a whiff of something up, there’s no real genuine interest or a combination of all those things. Whatever the case, Sanchez won’t be taking the field until Week 5 of the upcoming season.
Teams are free to still sign Sanchez. In fact, the suspension shouldn’t really deter interest at all. If an interested buyer were to emerge, they would be able to have Sanchez in the building attending meetings (which wouldn’t hurt) and available to play preseason games. And the NFL’s quirky rules about third-string quarterbacks being active/inactive on gamedays would mitigate the effect of Sanchez’s suspension.
Assuming the 31-year-old does end up on a roster, this upcoming season would be Sanchez’s 11th. In that span, he’s spent time with the Jets (where he went to back-to-back AFC Championship games), Eagles, Broncos (kind of), Cowboys, and Bears.
As a starter, Sanches is 37-35 across his 72 career starts. He’s completed 56.7% of his passes in the NFL for 15,219 yards good for 86 touchdowns against 86 interceptions.
Notably, there were reports a while back that the Seahawks might have some interest in Sanchez (which would take him back to his college coach). The quarterback could appeal the decision and try to get it shortened (or even taken away). Otherwise, Mark Sanchez might be left playing the waiting game.
