The New York Jets have talked all offseason about an open battle under center, something offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg once again hammered home Wednesday.
"This will be a bona fide quarterback competition, period," Mornhinweg said on a conference call with season ticket holders, via the New York Daily News. "I am hoping that somebody will rise to the top quicker rather than later."
Mornhinweg oversees a bloated quarterback room with no fewer than five passers vying for snaps. Last year's starter, Mark Sanchez, arguably wouldn't even be on the roster if it weren't for the guaranteed $8.25 million coming his way in 2013.
It's hard to imagine Sanchez winning this thing. Brian Costello of the New York Post reported that the Jets already have become "smitten" with rookie Geno Smith after his strong showing during last weekend's rookie minicamp. We wouldn't be surprised to see Sanchez jettisoned, but for now, Mornhinweg faces the daily challenge of splitting up practice snaps until someone emerges as the clear-cut king.
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"I've spent quite a little bit of time just figuring out the exact reps for each player, and that will be dictated on how they've done in the prior practice or practices," said Mornhinweg, who steered clear of hinting whether or not Sanchez still would be on the depth chart come September.
Of course, it was former general manager Mike Tannenbaum, not current GM John Idzik, who saddled the Jets with one of the worst quarterback contracts in recent memory. But if the Jets want to turn the page -- and if the team truly is buzzing over Geno -- then cutting ties with Sanchez, expensive as that might be, is the healthiest lever to pull in Florham Park.
UPDATE: One player who won't be in the mix is David Garrard, who called it quits on Wednesday.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
