Mark Sanchez is close to being an Eagle. (Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE)
Mark Sanchez is on the verge of joining the Philadelphia Eagles.
The 27-year-old quarterback, released Friday by the New York Jets, is scheduled to take a physical with the Eagles on Thursday, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday night. If his surgically repaired right shoulder and left knee check out, Sanchez would sign to become a backup to Philadelphia quarterback Nick Foles.
“I think Mark is a very, very good athlete,” Eagles coach Chip Kelly said Wednesday at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Fla. “He’s started 60-some-odd games in this league. He’s got good experience. He has a lot of positive qualities.”
Former Eagles quarterback Michael Vick signed a free agent deal with the Jets last week.
Philadelphia also has quarterback Matt Barkley, who, like Sanchez, played at the University of Southern California.
Last summer, Sanchez was competing for the starting job with rookie Geno Smith before suffering a shoulder injury in the Jets’ third preseason game. He sat out the 2013 season after undergoing shoulder surgery and also an arthroscopic knee procedure.
Over his last two seasons as a starter, Sanchez committed a combined 52 turnovers in 2011 and 2012. In contrast, Foles threw 27 touchdown passes last season and was intercepted just twice.
Sanchez was selected by the Jets with the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft and he started 62 games in five years, posting a 33-29 record and passing for 68 touchdowns with 69 interceptions. He led New York to the AFC Championship Game in each of his first two seasons.
Releasing Sanchez, who was due a $2 million bonus on March 25, saved the Jets $8.3 million against the salary cap.
