If the New York Jets and Mark Sanchez end up parting ways sometime in the near future, people might point toward his ill-advised retreat into his own end zone Saturday -- and another untimely fourth-quarter giveaway -- as the beginning of the end of his tenure as the Jets' quarterback.
With his team desperately needing a victory in order to stay alive in the AFC wild-card chase, Sanchez laid an egg in a 29-14 loss loss to the New York Giants. The third-year pro completed 30 of 59 passes for 258 yards with one touchdown to two interceptions. He also took five sacks -- one of which resulted in a safety with the Jets trailing by six in the fourth-quarter.
Sanchez's poor play, as well as his overall up-and-down performance this season, now has the Jets seriously considering whether or not they have their franchise quarterback on their roster.
A league source told ProFootballTalk.com on Sunday that the Jets are beginning to realize that Sanchez, whom the team drafted with its first-round pick in 2009, might not be their guy.
Sanchez has two years remaining on his his rookie contract after this season -- he will earn a base salary of $8.5 million next year, according to PFT.
While the Jets have not been officially eliminated from the postseason, they will need a win against the Dolphins next week and a lot of help to earn a wild-card spot.
