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Mark Sanchez earns tepid support from Jets GM Idzik

The San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens don't have questions at the quarterback position, but the New York Jets -- far from Super Bowl glory -- certainly do.

John Idzik, the Jets' new general manager, has inherited issues under center, but said he's willing to let Mark Sanchez compete for the job.

"I feel comfortable with Mark being a Jet," Idzik told WFAN-AM on Monday, per ESPNNewYork.com's Rich Cimini. "I told him we're going to add competition and everyone should be up for it. It's going to make Mark, and everybody else, better."

Idzik told the station Sanchez is ready to get started.

"He wants to get going with his new coordinator," Idzik said. "He's all about competing. I got a really good feeling from Mark."

Hyperbole aside, there's only one direction for Idzik to move in. Cutting Sanchez would cost the Jets a whopping $12.8 million cap hit, not a setback New York can afford. The Jets are roughly $20 million over the cap -- a dilemma Idzik labeled a "huge item" -- meaning Sanchez has a spot on the roster no matter what in 2013.

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What the maligned pro does with that opportunity is anyone's guess. Sanchez was not well-protected this past season, but his decision-making under pressure was disastrous. His early glory of guiding the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship Games has dimmed, and the team certainly would steer in another direction if Sanchez hadn't been handed a massive guaranteed contract.

It's just one of the many issues Idzik has inherited in a never-dull Florham Park, N.J.

Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.

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