"An absolute dream come true": Sanchez ready to compete for Broncos starting job

If the Denver Broncos are not ready to let Mark Sanchez take over the reins, they did not inform him. To a meager group of media in attendance for a quarterback signing, Sanchez smiled and described the opportunity he sees before him during his introductory press conference Monday morning.

“John Elway said, ‘get in here and compete for a starting job,’” Sanchez told. “What a reinvigorating feeling this is. I can’t tell you how thrilled and excited I am to be here.”

Sanchez has run a wide spectrum of roles in his eight years as a NFL quarterback. Coming out of the high-profile University of Southern California, he immediately jumped into the equally intensive New York media as a New York Jet. As the fifth overall draft pick in 2009 he led the Jets to multiple AFC title games before falling out of favor and playing with the Philadelphia Eagles for the last two seasons, ultimately being regulated to back up duty. Monday he detailed how that experience is a positive, not a negative, on his record.

“All that experience, I feel like, that can only help you as you move on in your career,” he said. “I’m battle tested, I’ve been through the fire, I’ve been in some tough media markets and I’ve played in some great games. I’ve seen the highs and lows of this league and I’m just anxious to get started.”

Sanchez recorded a 37-31 overall record in his time with the Jets and appeared in 13 games (starting 10) with the Eagles in his two seasons there. He has played in six postseason contests and took the Jets to consecutive AFC Championship games during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. An injury to his throwing shoulder ended his time in New York in 2013 and he joined the Eagles the following season. He owns a career 74.3 regular season passer rating and helped lead the 2014 Eagles to a 10-6 record, replacing an injured Nick Foles. He finished that season with a career-high 88.4 passer rating but he played in only four games in 2015.

The decline of Sanchez’ playing time, besides injury, has clearly been due to his regular season 86 touchdown passes to 84 interceptions as well as 51 career fumbles, 24 of those lost. He understands the criticism and as a veteran signal caller knows that needs to improve.

“I think the most important thing—any successful team and any time that we’ve has success—is the team that hasn’t turned the ball over,” he said. “Whether it is interceptions or fumbles or anything—you look at the final four teams every year, those are the teams with the best turnover ratio and the best turnover margins.”

Sanchez joins a team coming off of a championship season and a historic defensive year. Although defensive tackle Malik Jackson and linebacker Danny Trevathan have left via free agency, the group will remain largely intact. His most successful seasons in New York, Sanchez had a great defense to help him out. Monday he noted that the group around him presents a golden opportunity to revive his career.

“This is an incredible opportunity,” he said in regards to joining Kubiak and the team. “I think it’s a great fit and think it will be a smooth transition. I’ve seen his success not only as a player but as a coach and one of the great offensive minds in this league. That is encouraging as a quarterback. I feel like they put their quarterback in a great situation. That’s with the personnel around the quarterback, the defense, the special teams, everything involved, those are all important aspects.”

Many suspect that following Peyton Manning may have contributed to Brock Osweiler’s decision to take the Houston Texans offer and leave Denver. Sanchez was asked how following Manning may impact him this season as he competes for the starting job.

“[Brett] Favre was there right before I got to New York. It was another Hall of Famer, first-ballot Hall of Famer,” he remembered. “What a unique circumstance that was. To both of those players, and especially Peyton [Manning], nobody follows those guys. You don’t try and emulate them. You see what they do on the field and you’d love to do some of those things, especially all of the successful things he has done. You don’t try and be Peyton Manning.”

Sanchez’s career has declined sharply after those first two memorable seasons in New York. His recent setbacks have created a negative connotation to his name and when he joined the Broncos via trade last Friday the reaction around the league and in Denver was mostly negative. His positivity and words Monday should be encouraging to Broncos Country.

“I’m eager to win. I’ve seen a lot in this league,” he said emphatically. “I just want to play ball and I want to win. I really want to win and I’m so lucky to be in a spot like this. Every waking moment that is all I am think about, what an opportunity this is and I want to win and want to play.”

The Broncos are highly likely to continue to look for another addition to Sanchez and second- year quarterback Trevor Siemian from any avenue. There have been continued reports of the Broncos still trying to come to an agreement with the San Francisco 49ers to trade Colin Kaepernick to Denver. The Broncos have also been linked to quarterback Paxton Lynch in the 2016 NFL Draft with their 31^st overall pick. Sanchez understands that Elway is looking for him to “compete” for the starting job and he remains hungry to prove himself.

“I’ve just been hungry these last couple of years to really get into an established starting role,” he explained. “To have that established starting role routine and not wait for somebody to get hurt or for something to happen to go into the game. In a lot of ways in control of my own destiny here. To have that in my power for the first time in a few years, that’s pretty special. To see what this could be, it’s incredible.”

Regardless of whether Sanchez wins the starting job or not, it looks as though it is a similar fit to the team’s he played on early in his career in New York and he remains as focused as he was coming into the NFL seven years ago. Elway and Kubiak certainly have given Sanchez a confidence boost and who knows how it will play out.

“I can honestly say that is just a recipe for success. I’m thrilled to be a part of it,” he said with a smile. “I think the culture that they’ve built here, the winning attitude and the fan base here, this is one of the best organizations in sports—not just football. When I got that phone call and Howie Roseman said, ‘I’m trading you to Denver,’ I was like, ‘Denver, Colorado? Are you kidding me? OK. Yeah, let’s do it.’ This is just an absolute dream come true.”