Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent.
He began to play football in high school, training with his father Nick. A well-regarded prospect, Sanchez committed to USC following his successful high school career in which he led his team to a championship title during his senior season. At USC, Sanchez was relegated as the backup quarterback during his first three years though he rose to prominence due to his brief appearances on the field in 2007 due to injuries suffered by starting quarterback John David Booty. Sanchez also became popular within the community due to his Mexican-American heritage. He was named the starter in 2008, and led USC to a 12–1 record and won the Rose Bowl against Penn State, winning the game's MVP award for his performance.
Although USC coach Pete Carroll and many scouts considered him too inexperienced, Sanchez announced his intention to enter the 2009 NFL Draft. He was selected by the Jets after they traded up with the Cleveland Browns, and was named the starting quarterback prior to the start of the season. Despite a subpar performance, Sanchez led the Jets to the AFC Championship Game, a losing effort to the Indianapolis Colts, becoming the fourth rookie quarterback in NFL history to win his first playoff game and the second to win two playoff games. In his second season, Sanchez continued to develop and led the Jets to the playoffs and the team's second consecutive AFC Championship Game where they narrowly lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24–19. With the win over the New England Patriots the week prior, Sanchez tied four other quarterbacks for the second most post-season road victories by a quarterback in NFL history. In leading the Jets to two consecutive conference championships, Sanchez joined quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as the only two quarterbacks in NFL history to reach the conference championship in their first two seasons in the league.
The next two seasons would be a regression for both the team and Sanchez as they failed to reach the playoffs, with fans and critics calling for him to be benched. He was eventually replaced towards the end of the 2012 season by Greg McElroy. Sanchez suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during the preseason in 2013; he was released after the season concluded and was subsequently signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. When Eagle starter Nick Foles went down with an injury that season, Sanchez started the second half of the season for them, setting career highs in completion percentage and passer rating. Following that, Sanchez was a backup member of the Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, and Chicago Bears. He also started for the Redskins in 2018 after two of their quarterbacks, Alex Smith and Colt McCoy, suffered season-ending leg fractures.
2009-2013 |
2014-2015 |
2016 |
2016 |
2017-2018 |