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Early reactions to the Mark Sanchez signing.
Cowboys to sign Mark Sanchez; Dak Prescott must never get hurt - Steven Mullenax, The Landry hat
Truth.
Mark Sanchez signs with the Cowboys after getting cut by the Broncos - Sean Wagner-McGGough, CBSSports.com
Sanchez lost the quarterback competition to Trevor Siemian; Broncos save $3.5 million in cap space.
The Broncos probably wish they had found a trade partner before the roster deadline Saturday. They were reportedly close to trading him to Dallas. Instead, the Cowboys got their backup quarterback without giving up anything in return for his services, which have been known to include butt fumbles.
Cowboys sign Mark Sanchez after he's cut by Broncos - Marc Sessler, NFL.com
Not exactly a ringing endorsement from the league mothership.
Denver spent the past week trying to trade Sanchez, but teams weren't about to bite. Dallas patiently waited for the Broncos to dump the veteran before grabbing him. No longer starting material, Sanchez will work behind rookie starter Dak Prescott and ahead of Jameill Showers until Tony Romo returns later this season from a back injury.
It's entirely possible that Sanchez -- no longer fooling teams as an NFL starter -- will be out of work all over again once Romo reappears.
2016 All-Cut Team: Forsett, Sitton and Sanchez headline top names released - Pete Prisco, CBSSports.com
Mark Sanchez headlines the biggest names released on Saturday, is Prisco's choice as his QB in the All-ciut team. Damned with faint praise.
My quarterback is Mark Sanchez, who was released by the Broncos Saturday and then signed by the Cowboys. It was the third team that gave up on Sanchez in his career, which is telling. He also beat out by a player who has never thrown a pass in his career. [...] This could be his last shot after failing to make Denver's 53-man roster.
What we learned: 18 takeaways from roster cutdowns - Gregg Rosenthal, NFL.com
The Cowboys didn't waste time plucking Mark Sanchez off the market in what Sessler calls the least surprising move of the day.
Mark Sanchez is joining the Dallas Cowboys as the team's backup to rookie Dak Prescott, which only felt like a matter of time. The Jones dynasty smartly waited out Broncos executive John Elway, who released Sanchez. (The Broncos picked up Austin Davis as their No. 3 option.) This feels like another long setup to seeing Sanchez start on Thanksgiving again.
Dallas Cowboys sign Mark Sanchez after Broncos release him - Andre Vergara, FOX Sports
A quick look at some career numbers for Sanchez.
Sanchez has started 72 of his 75 career games, including all 62 in four seasons with the Jets. He played in just four games last year in Philadelphia, completing 64.8 percent of his passes for 616 yards, four TDs and four interceptions. He's thrown for 86 TDs and 84 picks in his six-year career.
However, Sanchez's struggles didn't deter Jerry Jones, who lost both Tony Romo and backup Kellen Moore to injury this preseason, from agreeing to a one-year deal reportedly worth up to $2.5 million.
Mark Sanchez career arc: Franchise QB to journeyman, no butts about it - Rich Cimini, ESPN
Cimini, the Jets writer at ESPN, explains how Sanchez fell from being the No. 1 overall pick to playing journeyman backup to a rookie in Dallas.
Sanchez's decline actually began in 2011, when the Jets decided to remove the young quarterback from bubble wrap. For two years, they coached around him, hiding him behind an outstanding offensive line and letting the league's best defense carry the team. It worked -- two straight trips to the AFC Championship Game -- but they felt it was time to make him the focal point.
Cimini goes on to detail Sanchez' subsequent stops in the NFL - and what went wrong at each. It's a well-written piece, but not fun to read. This about sums it up:
He endured plenty of early growing pains with the Jets, but he was a winner and a star, from Southern Cal to Broadway. He was going to be the next Namath. He outplayed Manning and Brady in back-to-back playoff weeks.
Now he loses to Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch.
Cowboys to sign Mark Sanchez - Alex Reimer, SBNation.com
Whodathunkit? There is some value in having Sanchez after all.
Sanchez is a turnover-prone quarterback who couldn't earn the job in Denver. However, he's a quarterback with plenty of starting experience and someone the Cowboys can at least win games with, so long as a grinding rushing attack and strong defense leads the way. Ideally though, Sanchez will never see the field in Dallas.
Twitter reacts to Cowboys signing Mark Sanchez and it was not impressed: 'Rock, meet bottom' - SportsDay
Twitter did not take kindly to the Sanchez signing.
Cowboys Roster Moves: Believe It Or Not, The Sanchez Move Makes Sense - Dawn Macelli, Blogging The Boys
Macelli valiantly argues that while it isn't a popular move, bringing in Mark Sanchez in as a veteran short-term rental to use in an emergency situation is a good move by the Dallas front office.
Their situation requires someone who can give them a reasonable NFL-level performance at a moment's notice while serving as a short-term rental. We may not like it, but that is the need in Dallas
Mark Sanchez is not the quarterback you are going to turn to as the savior of the franchise; he is a journeyman-level passer who can fill in at a moment's notice, but also someone who the team can jettison once his usefulness comes to an end.
A Closer Look At The 53-Man Roster
Most significant non-moves among Cowboys roster cuts - Todd Archer, ESPN
Instead of looking at the players who were cut, Archer focuses on those that weren't.
The Cowboys did not release any big names or make any truly surprising cuts. Tight end Gavin Escobar and safety J.J. Wilcox have made the initial 53-man roster, but that doesn't mean they have made the Week 1 roster. The Cowboys kept only eight defensive linemen and only three are pure defensive ends: Benson Mayowa, David Irving and Charles Tapper, a rookie who did not see a preseason snap because of a back injury. It also means Jack Crawford, more of a tackle by trade, will be their starter at left defensive end and linebacker Kyle Wilber could be more of a defensive end early in the season. It's not so much who the Cowboys cut (Ryan Russell, Mike McAdoo). It's that the Cowboys will have defensive end at the top of their wish list in the waiver-wire process or trade. The Cowboys have to do something. Of course, this has been said since March when free agency began, through the draft, through the offseason program and now through the preseason.
State Of The Defensive Line Following Cuts - Joseph.Hatz, Blogging The Boys
Hatz wonders about the next steps on the defensive line.
Considering that Marinelli prefers to have eight linemen in his rotation, will the Cowboys roll the dice early on with just seven with the hope that Tapper only misses a game or two and is ready to contribute right away?
Or will they look to add one of the recent cuts such as Tyrone Holmes or Ryan Davis? Could they be looking at a trade? And who on the current roster would be on the chopping block if someone is added? Something tells me the Cowboys are far from finished on the defensive line.
The Most Surprising Cuts & Moves By The Team - DannyPhantom, Blogging The Boys
Phantom provides a thorough rundown of the 53-man roster highlights and lowlights.
Cowboys set initial 53-man roster, part ways with three draft picks - Drew Davison, The Star-Telegram
Among the surprising moves for Davison: The Cowboys are keeping two fullbacks and they released three former draft picks.
Among the notable cuts were three draft picks – wide receiver Devin Street (5th rounder in 2014), defensive end Ryan Russell (5th rounder in 2015) and tight end Rico Gathers (6th rounder in 2016).
Dallas Cowboys will be busy looking for help after roster cuts - Todd Archer, ESPN
In his Twitter mailbag, Archer takes the over on whether the Cowboys will sign/claim three players after final roster cuts.
I'll go with the over. I realize the Cowboys have to cut to 53 players by this afternoon but I believe they can get to 49 if needed. They will be active. They are always active. It's not so much big moves, but they have added waiver-wire players as well as low-end trades in the last few years.
The Cowboys will have the fourth spot in the claiming order, which should serve them well in terms of finding a quarterback, defensive end or offensive line help. They could have some assets teams want, like Darren McFadden, to add a player or two. They could give away future picks or conditional picks. We saw in the preseason the Cowboys have depth issues. They will need to find help in any way that they can.
This is the fun time of year for the scouts and front office. It's awful for the players because they won't know they are on the team until the dust settles, but the Cowboys will look to churn the bottom of that roster.
Preseasons for rookie QB: Jared Goff struggled, Dak Prescott starred - ESPN
Seven QBs were drafted ahead of Dak Prescott, but Prescott will be the only rookie QB to begin the season as a starter.
Surely you've heard of Prescott by now, right? He was the breakout performer of the preseason, and the fourth-round pick will begin the regular season as the Cowboys' starter because of Tony Romo's back injury. Prescott is the only rookie quarterback who will start in Week 1. His teammates believe in him, and Dallas might have found a gem.
Bryan Broaddus of DallasCowboys.com weighs in on Randy Gregory's suspension.
We haven't heard anything other than suspended first four games. https://t.co/LdWa9MZOw9
— Bryan Broaddus (@BryanBroaddus) September 3, 2016
I know it's four games for sure. https://t.co/a0KqVn7z0O
— Bryan Broaddus (@BryanBroaddus) September 3, 2016