Mark Sanchez: Tebow signed as a camp arm while Bradford recovers
Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow have history. The Jets traded for Tebow after the 2011 season, and the thinking was that he'd push Sanchez for playing time.
Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow have history. The Jets traded for Tebow after the 2011 season, and the thinking was that he'd push Sanchez for playing time. Didn't happen. Instead, Sanchez went on to have one of his worst seasons as a starter and Tebow was used sparingly on offense and special teams.
(That train wreck was documented in great detail in our weekly Sanchbow dispatches.)
The Jets cut ties with Tebow after the season, and did the same with Sanchez a year later. But Sanchez found a home in Philadelphia with coach Chip Kelly. He played in nine games last season, where he set career bests in completion percentage (64.1), average yards per attempt (7.8) and passer rating (88.4).
In January, Kelly, who won 10 games in each of his first two seasons with the Eagles, also assumed full control of the personnel decisions, and he wasted little time remaking the roster. One of the biggest moves: trading starting quarterback Nick Foles and some draft picks to the Rams for 2010 first-overall pick Sam Bradford.
Then, earlier this month, Kelly signed -- you guessed it -- Tebow, reuniting the former Heisman winner with Sanchez. As it stands -- and this could very well change a week from now -- the Eagles' quarterback depth chart looks like this: Bradford, Sanchez, Matt Barkley and Tebow.
But according to Sanchez, the expectation is that Tebow won't be around once the regular season is underway.
"He's obviously a great guy, he works hard. And we needed another guy to throw while Sam's [Bradford] still recovering," Sanchez said Friday, via CSNPhilly.com. "So that's the reason [for the signing], at least as explained to me. We're excited about the upcoming year and I think we have a great group."
We talked about Tebow's arrival in Philly (and what, if anything, it means) on the latest Eye on Football Podcast embedded below. Remember, subscribe here so you never miss an episode:
The day before Sanchez's remarks, Eagles' new vice president of player personnel Ed Marynowitz explained why the team signed Tebow.
"We worked him out and we saw improvement from the last time we saw him, had exposure to him live when we played New England when they practice here," Marynowitz said. "When we worked him out, we saw a great deal of improvement with him. ...
"We've got 68 players that are on our roster right now," he continued. "Tim is one of 68 so he'll have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot here. ... His role will be determined by his performance. We're excited that he's a member of the organization, and we're looking forward to him competing."
Marynowitz's comments don't contradict Sanchez's, though Tebow's struggles with accuracy hardly make him a good fit as a camp arm. Either way, there's a reason teams expand their rosters to 90 players in the offseason: it afford them longer looks at players who might not otherwise get the opportunity.
Plus, this is Chip Kelly we're talking about; the man seems unmoved by convention and public sentiment. Which is why no one will be surprised if Kelly adds another quarterback to the roster next Thursday when he trades up for Marcus Mariota.
In case you're wondering, only CBSSports.com's Will Brinson has the Eagles landing Mariota in the latest mock drafts.
Whatever happens, Sanchez seems unconcerned.
"I knew we were going to have to do something," he said. "Like I said, it’s going to be a fun year. Coach Kelly knows what he’s doing. Don’t worry too much. It’s only April. Things will fall into place. We’ll be just fine.”
