LaDainian Tomlinson, Former New York Jets RB, Says Mark Sanchez Starting Career Is Over

It's no secret that the New York Jets have turned into something of a laughing stock in recent seasons. Thanks to posting an 8-8 record in 2011 and following that up with a 6-10 mark last season, Gang Green and head coach Rex Ryan have slipped from a once-promising NFL contender - reaching consecutive AFC Championship games in 2009 and 2010 - to a mediocre-at-best franchise still searching for the player who will take command under center. Most thought former University of Southern California standout Mark Sanchez would hold the Jets' quarterback position for a decade-plus after leading the team to back-to-back Conference championships but after totaling 52 turnovers over the last 2 seasons, the Jets are now looking for other options.

Though Rex Ryan continues to show support for Mark Sanchez since he was the head coach instrumental in the teams drafting of the 26-year-old in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft, former Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson doesn't believe Sanchez is the right man for the job. The now-retired back spent the 2010 and 2011 campaigns in New York and even though Sanchez guided Tomlinson and the team to the AFC title game in 2011, Tomlinson feels as though his former quarterback simply has not done enough since to warrant a starting position with the Jets or anywhere else in the league. With the Jets' recent selection of quarterback Geno Smith in the recent draft, Sanchez's days in green certainly appear numbered.

"I don't think Mark will be a starter again in the NFL," Tomlinson said in a recent interview on SiriusXM radio. "I think there's certainly potential for him to be a backup and then get a starting job for half the year or what have you that way. But I think his days as a full-time starter are pretty much over. Because you've got to realize in football, for a quarterback, you're going to get three to five years in an organization to prove that you're the franchise guy. I mean that's just what it is."

Sanchez is expected to miss a chunk of the regular season due to an injured shoulder he suffered in a preseason victory over the New York Giants. Due to make $8.25 million in 2013 from his current team, Sanchez could get cut by the Jets and new general manager John Idzik this season, something the organization has not completely ruled out according to ESPN New York.

If the QB does see his New York career come to an abrupt ending, LaDainian Tomlinson's prediction about Sanchez no longer fitting with the Jets would be proven correct. As NFL fans and Jets supporters in particular wait to see what the future holds, Tomlinson may also be accurate when stating that Mark Sanchez's days as a starting quarterback in the National Football League are indeed over.

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