If you are just waking up this morning, you might not realize that Mark Sanchez is now the seventh highest paid quarterback in the NFL. The Jets gave him an extension last night. I didn't make that up. That wasn't a dream. Mark said at his press conference last night he disagrees with reports where some have called him coddled.
"When people say I'm coddled, I just wish they could sit in a meeting after I havent played my best or after I threw a few interceptions," he said, "because [quarterbacks] coach [Matt] Cavanaugh and coach [Brian] Schottenheimer and even Rex at times, theres nothing close to coddling going on there and at times its pretty rough.
I don't think anybody ever doubted that Mark like all NFL players has been yelled at by his coaches for making a mistake.
The proof is in the pudding here. It isn't Sanchez's fault, but he has never seriously seen his starting job put in jeopardy. The Jets just made him one of the highest paid players in the league after a season where he wasn't even in the top 20 in completion percentage, yards per attempt, or passer rating. That is rewarding mediocrity, which is most definitely coddling.
This extension is not window dressing like the one Donovan McNabb got from the Redskins a few years ago that had such little guaranteed money that they could cut him. He is getting an additional $20 million in guaranteed money.