Breaking News: Jets Ink Sanchez to Deal

Just in, the Jets and quarterback Mark Sanchez have agreed on a contract. According to the Daily News, the deal is for 5 years and $28 million in guaranteed money. That would make him the highest-paid player in team history.

It was obviously expected both sides would reach a deal without a problem. The biggest thing, as noted in the article, is that the contract is for 5 years and not 6. Most Top-5 quarterbacks in the draft get a 6-year deal (Matt Stafford, the #1 pick, got 6 years and about $42 million from the Lions). The advantage here is for Sanchez, who can become a free agent a year early.

Nothing further is available at this point, but Sanchez as well as Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum will speak to reporters after the afternoon practice, which began at about 4:10 PM.

Checking in with the Jets

Haven't had a football related blog since my triumphant return, so I thought I'd catch you all up on some happenings around the Jets. They are currently taking part in OTAs (organized team activities) and have made headlines recently regarding the players in attendance.

News continues to revolve around quarterback Mark Sanchez and whether or not he'll be the starter this year. My guess is not right away, as I feel Kellen Clemens has the experience, and Sanchez might need some more time. I wouldn't be surprised to see Sanchez start later in the season.

As for players who have missed time at OTAs, the two stand-outs would be runningbacks Thomas Jones and Leon Washington. Both are unhappy with their current contracts. Jones is set to receive $900,000 this year, but wants more after he was the AFC's leading rusher last season. As for Washington, he's due just $535,000, and wants money similar to that of Darren Sproles and Maurice Jones-Drew (around $6 or 7 million).

Jones sat out all of the voluntary offseason workouts, but returned on Wednesday, May 27th. As for his back-up, Washington also sat out for a while from OTAs, and finally returned yesterday to the practice facility in Florham Park, NJ. According to Washington's agent, the return was "a move of good faith."

It appears unlikely either will get a big increase. Jones has received a lot already from his first two years of his four-year contract and is continuing to age (over 30). Washington could be either an unrestricted or restricted free agent after the season, depending on whether the league develops a new Collective Bargaining Agreement after the 2009 season. The team doesn't want to pay him a lot of he would be unrestricted, and rightfully so.

Either way, both are back working out with the team, both are in great shape as always, and will look to lead a run-heavy offense this season under the direction of new Head Coach Rex Ryan and either Clemens or Sanchez under center.

So Long Brett

News reports say Brett Favre has told the Jets he plans to retire. Cue the celebration in New York! Jets fans today should be rejoicing over the fact that Favre will not, at least as of now, be coming back at his old age and with his old arm to help lead the Jets to great mid-season success only to follow it with another catastrophic failure.

Favre was brought in as the final piece to help lead the Jets not only into the playoffs but deep into it. A veteran presence in a talented line-up was exactly what appeared to be a great decision by the Jets. However, we all now how much bad luck has surrounded the Jets throughout their history, and this past season was no different. After moving to 8-3, first place in the AFC East, by handing the Titans their first loss of the season in blowout fashion, the Jets finished the year a dismal 1-4 and found a way to miss not only the division title but the playoffs as a whole. And a lot of that responsibility rested on Favre and his less-than-stellar performances.

I was saying throughout the last few games that the Jets needed to put in Kellen Clemens when Favre was at his peak struggling point. Sure Clemens has barely played in the NFL and Favre is arguably the greatest of all-time, but shouldn't the goal be to win and secure a playoff spot? I'm not saying Clemens would have definitely performed better, but at that point, when Favre was throwing interceptions left and right, a change had to be made. Look what happened with Donovan McNabb! He was playing terrible, got benched for a half, then came back and led his team to the NFC Championship game.

For this coming season, unless the Jets can find another solid QB, I say give Kellen a chance. He has yet to play a full season in the league and has been learning from the likes of Chad Pennington and now Brett Favre for years. Put him out there, see what he can do, and take it from there. He's got a great arm but just needs work on his accuracy. I'd say that's something Favre could have taught him with his laser-like passes, but after the amount of interceptions Favre threw last year, I can pretty safely say that didn't happen!