Mark Sanchez Rumored To Be Heading To Buccaneers

Mark Sanchez could be headed to the Buccaneers.

The quarterback who once led the New York Jets to two consecutive AFC Championship games lost his standing on the team with shaky performances in the last two years, and now it appears that Sanchez could be part of a trade that would send four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis to the Buccaneers.

It’s not clear if the Jets would be sending Mark Sanchez to the Buccaneers as a way to sweeten the Revis trade or as a way to dump salary. Sanchez is due a base salary of $8.25 million in 2013, which isn’t a huge amount for a quarterback but too high for the Jets considering Sanchez is no longer assured a starting job.

Though the team stuck with Sanchez through most of 2012, after Jets were eliminated from playoff contention the team turned to rookie quarterback Greg McElroy. He failed to impress, leaving the Jets with no clear-cut started heading into 2013.

The Jets picked up veteran David Garrard in the offseason, putting Mark Sanchez on even shakier ground.

If Mark Sanchez does go to the Buccaneers, he would be solidly behind Bucs starter Josh Freeman. He threw for 4,065 yards last year, the most of his young career, but Bucs coach Greg Schiano has talked about upgrading from backup Dan Orlovsky to push Freeman a bit harder next year.

Some are looking at the Mark Sanchez to the Buccaneers rumor with skepticism. Fox Sports reporter Andrew Astelford noted that it’s unlikely the Bucs would want to pick up Sanchez’s salary, but said the rumor is nevertheless telling that his standing with the Jets has fallen.

It’s not just Mark Sanchez who is rumored to the Buccaneers. The Jets have reportedly looked at shipping their sometimes-quarterback Tim Tebow to Tampa as part of a Darrelle Revis trade, mainly as a way to keep rival New England from picking up Tebow and avoid having to cut him and getting nothing in return.