Mark Sanchez remains "day to day" with a right shoulder injury, but it's appearing more likely the besieged New York Jets quarterback will be out for several weeks.
The New York Post's Brian Costello reported Wednesday morning that doctors don't want Sanchez throwing too soon, fearing he could do further damage to his shoulder and potentially miss the rest of the season, according to a source.
Costello reported the Jets would be without the veteran quarterback until at least Week 3 vs. the Buffalo Bills.
NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported last week that Sanchez likely was dealing with a multi-week injury.
Rookie quarterback Geno Smithwas picked as the Jets' starting quarterback for Sunday's season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Moving forward, the question for coach Rex Ryan is whether Smith remains the starter when Sanchez is healthy.
Ryan said Tuesday that putting Sanchez on injured reserve is "not what we're looking at right now," but he also didn't rule it out. If newly signed quarterback Brady Quinn remains on the roster throughout the weekend, it will be a better indication of how the team views Sanchez than anything Ryan says.
Regardless of how long Sanchez is out, he might not get the shot to reclaim the starting job, regardless of Smith's play. Allowing the rookie to play through his mistakes makes the most sense for a team staring at a potentially rocky season.
The $8.25 million guaranteed remaining on Sanchez's contract continues to seem like the only thing keeping him from being cut.
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