Last month, the world was reminded that Mark Sanchez is still a professional football player when the Washington Redskins took a look at all of the options on the market and somehow decided he was the best one.
— Cian (@Cianaf) November 19, 2018
In fairness, Sanchez was only signed to back up Colt McCoy, who had earned a starting spot after Alex Smith suffered a gruesome leg injury (he continues to battle some seriously scary complications stemming from the initial surgery).
The Redskins reportedly never considered Colin Kaepernick before pursuing Sanchez, who somehow found himself back on the field for the first time in a couple of years last week after McCoy was knocked out of the game with a broken leg.
The team made it very clear they could care less about extra baggage when they signed a player who was only released by another team because he was arrested for domestic assault.
As a result, Kaepernick seemed like a prime candidate as the Redskins began to hunt for a QB yet again after McCoy went down but Jay Gruden made it clear he wasn’t in the running, claiming the embattled athlete wasn’t a good fit for the Redskins offensive system:
“There’s not a lot of time to get a brand-new quarterback and system installed in a couple of days. He’s been talked about, but we’ll probably go in a different direction…
When you’re talking about a backup quarterback this late in the game you want someone with a similar skill set to the quarterback you have. Not that Colin can’t do some of the things we’ve talked about, but we want someone with a little more familiarity.”
It looked like bullshit and smelled like bullshit so I used my judgment to call it bullshit after I saw the explanation and apparently rustled a few jimmies in the process.
I’ve been writing on the internet for almost a decade now and during that time I’ve learned a lot about humanity, like the fact there is nothing people love more than telling you that you’re a fucking idiot for having an opinion that differs from their own.
That was the case after that article hit the internet, as it didn’t take long until I got a message that read (in part):
“If you knew anything about football you’d know that Sanchez’s style is a much better fit for the Redskins.”
Is it a bit petty to save the receipts? Perhaps. But I’m glad I held onto this one.
On Sunday, Sanchez put that valued reader’s hypothesis to the test against the New York Giants in a game that would see him yanked in the third quarter with the Redskins trailing by a score of 40-0.
6-14 Passing, 38 Pass Yards, 0 TD, 2 Int, 10.7 QB Rating pic.twitter.com/U8rhW9Sid6
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 9, 2018
Sanchez was replaced with household name John Johnson, who most recently played for the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football.
Twitter was quick to respond with a few fun facts.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) December 9, 2018
— Brian McNally (@bmcnally14) December 9, 2018
— The Crush Report (@CrushReport) December 9, 2018
The Redskins would score two touchdowns with Johnson at the helm, which was apparently enough to earn him a starting spot.
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) December 9, 2018
If you’re not familiar with Johnson (and I’d be shocked if you are), he entered the league in 2008 and his scouting report noted he was a mobile quarterback with a solid arm who possessed the ability to scramble and use his agility to pick up yardage,
Hmmmm. That kind of sounds like a guy he once shared a depth chart with while in San Francisco.
2014: Kaepernick's backup's backup
2018: Playing an NFL gamehttps://t.co/Rqv5bWrglS
— SB Nation (@SBNation) December 9, 2018
At this point, it’s clear the Redskins were blatantly lying when they tried to explain why they wouldn’t sign Kaepernick, who would have probably been a better choice than someone with a similar playing style who hasn’t seen the field since we were still mourning the death of Ned Stark.
• LeBron James had yet to win an NBA Championship
• Game of Thrones only had one season
• Colin Kaepernick had yet to start an NFL game
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 9, 2018
A lot of people who know things about football seemed to agree.
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) December 9, 2018
— Troy Haliburton (@TroyHalibur) December 9, 2018
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) December 9, 2018
Johnson is a Jim Harbaugh disciple having played at USD and the 49ers. And apparently is more "system ready" for Gruden than Kaepernick. Un. Real. https://t.co/bOxKmsNkTv
— Field Gulls (@FieldGulls) December 4, 2018
According to Yahoo Sports, Kaepernick— who hasn’t been contacted by a single NFL team— is still willing to play for the Redskins despite the blatant disrespect they’ve shown.
I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until they call him.
