Nick Piccone
UPDATE 8/29/16: Pro Football Talk is reporting the Broncos are trying to trade Mark Sanchez. If they can’t, there’s a good chance they could cut him.
Should they fail to move Sanchez in a trade, there’s a good chance that the Broncos will release Sanchez before Tuesday’s deadline to get to 75 players. Sanchez has $1 million of his $4.5 million base salary guaranteed, which means the team would save $3.5 million in both money and cap space if they did cut him loose.
If they don’t cut Sanchez before Week One, the entire salary will be guaranteed because Sanchez is a vested veteran and the Broncos will owe the Eagles the seventh-round pick they conditionally agreed to fork over in the trade for Sanchez. The Broncos might also be on the hook for the full $4.5 million if Sanchez were to get injured in Thursday’s preseason finale, so he might not get on the field even if the Broncos haven’t decided his fate before the cut to 75 takes place.
Original post below.
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Maybe Mark Sanchez wanted to remain a Philadelphia Eagle. Or maybe he’s just done in the NFL.
Today on ESPN’s NFL Live, Adam Schefter reported that the Broncos are leaning towards starting the season with Trevor Siemian behind center, with Paxton Lynch expected to take over as the starter at some point during the season. Siemian, who started the Broncos’ second preseason game, will also start their third preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday.
Why does that suck for the Eagles? Well, because if Sanchez doesn’t start at least four games for the Broncos, they won’t get a sixth-round draft pick in 2017. If Sanchez doesn’t even make Denver’s roster – which isn’t a crazy idea considering how he’s performed this preseason – the Eagles won’t get any draft pick.
In the Broncos’ second preseaosn game, Sanchez led the team to a score on his first drive, but had back-to-back turnovers after that. Sanchez kind of has a ho-hum attitude about it.
“I squandered a great opportunity to separate myself, and put the team in a bad situation,” Sanchez said, according to ESPN. “No excuse for that. Poor, poor quarterback play.
“I can’t put pressure on the O-line like that. I know I’m in a tough spot right there, and coach wants to see what I do. There’s no excuse for that. You can’t do that. … Poor play. I just let one go tonight. That’s really too bad.”
In regards to the draft pick the Eagles could wind up with, here’s the explanation via PhillyVoice’s Jimmy Kempski:
The sixth-round pick, however, requires further explanation. The Broncos had previously traded their 2017 sixth-round pick as part of a package to acquire tight end Vernon Davis. They do, however, own the Titans’ sixth-round pick in 2017, which the Eagles would receive instead in that scenario. The Titans are likely to be drafting higher than the Broncos in 2017.
Come on, Mark. We’re all pulling for you.