Rex: 'Sanchez Isn't Dead; Sanchez Is Going To Be 100 Percent Healthy'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Though all indications are Geno Smith will remain the Jets' starting quarterback for the foreseeable future, head coach Rex Ryan left the door to a Mark Sanchez return open just a crack on Wednesday.
Sanchez had his damaged shoulder repaired surgically this week and will miss four to six months, basically ending his season.
While most everyone believes the Jets will cut him before next season, Ryan toed the company line and stuck to the facts in an odd moment during his press conference on Wednesday.
"We're acting like he's dead. Mark Sanchez is not dead," Ryan said, a comment that drew some laughter from reporters. "Sanchez is going to be 100 percent healthy, guys. It's not like his career's over. He's going to play again."
The question is where. He will carry a cap hit of $13.1 million next season. And though it seems like a forgone conclusion that Sanchez has played his last game with the Jets, Ryan, perhaps sticking to the team's increased policy of informing the media on a need-to-know basis, said the team will be there for the fifth-year quarterback.
As far as Ryan is concerned, Sanchez, who led the Jets to AFC championship game appearances in 2009 and '10, is under contract and until he's not he will be treated the same as everyone else.
"I know for a fact that this organization will do everything in its power to see that that's possibility for him, that he can come back and be 100 percent," Ryan said. "Whether he's here or whatever, our thing is doing what's best for Mark, which would be to get him healthy."
The Jets are 3-2 under Smith heading into Sunday's game at home against winless Pittsburgh.
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