Journeyman quarterback Mark Sanchez is no longer a member of the Denver Broncos. He was released by the Super Bowl 50 champions on Saturday when head coach Gary Kubiak named Trevoe Siemian as their starting QB for the season.
In the preseason finale against the Arizona Cardinals, Broncos rookie QB Paxton Lynch took all the snaps instead of Sanchez. John Elway, the Broncos EVP of football operations and GM, detailed his "a long talk'' with Sanchez about him being cut from the team.
"I will tell you this ... he handled it with great class. I know he's disappointed, he wanted to stay here and, you know, we just thought with where we are, we thought it was best for us to different ways at this time. But Mark was great, and you know what? He handled everything great ... I thought he handled it great and it's just unfortunate he didn't win that job.''
But in a relatively quick reversal of fortune, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Dallas Cowboys signed the eight-year veteran to a one-year deal on the same day.
Upon cutting Sanchez, the Broncos will save $3.5 million and a seventh-round draft pick, who would have been accredited for $4.5 million this season, with the remaining $1 million guaranteed with offsets. The Broncos are now accountable for only having to pay a portion that surpasses the amount the Cowboys will pay him, which is up to $1 million.
Sanchez began his NFL career with the New York Jets in 2008, and led the team to back-to-back AFC Championships in 2009 and 2010. After he was released by the Jets in March 2014, and he was signed by Philadelphia Eagles just eight days later to a one-year contract. In March 2015, Sanchez was signed to a two-year extension deal with the team. And to add to his recurring theme of big moments in the month of March, Sanchez was traded by the Eagles to the Broncos earlier this year for a 2017 conditional draft pick.
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