Mark Sanchez Benched: Twitter Rips Redskins, Calls for Colin Kaepernick

Mark Sanchez

Getty Washington Redskins QB Mark Sanchez

It seems the Mark Sanchez experiment for the Washington Redskins may be over just one half into his first start of the year. With the Redskins falling into a 40-0 hole against the Odell Beckham Jr.-less New York Giants, Sanchez was benched in favor of recently-signed veteran Josh Johnson. The move may signal the end of his short tenure as a starter with the Redskins and possibly his NFL career.

But one key thing that stands out here is the fact that many had clamored for the Redskins to bring in Colin Kaepernick as the replacement for Alex Smith and Colt McCoy. Washington opted against it, and after Sanchez’s poor showing, they’re hearing about it in a big way.

At the time the veteran quarterback was pulled, he had completed just 6-of-14 passes for 38 yards with two interceptions. The Giants sacked Sanchez five times and he posted a quarterback rating of 10.7.


Twitter Rips Redskins Over Colin Kaepernick Decision Again


Redskins Decision Not to Sign Colin Kaepernick

The Redskins made the call not to sign Kaepernick shortly after McCoy’s injury which will sideline him for the year. It came with heavy scrutiny but got even worse after head coach Jay Gruden opted to address the situation publicly.

As ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed, the Redskins “talked about” the idea of Kaepernick.

“There’s not a lot of time to get a brand-new quarterback and system installed in a couple of days,” he said before the Redskins signed Johnson. “He’s been talked about, but we’ll probably go in a different direction.”

Schefter also reported that the Redskins did not reach out to the free-agent quarterback, pointing to the fact that there was likely not much interest in doing so. While the decision was surprising for a variety of reasons, the biggest is that the Redskins were still squarely in the NFC East race.

Heading into Week 14, Washington held a 6-6 record, tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for second place behind the Dallas Cowboys (7-5). The soon-to-be loss against the New York Giants this week will hurt their chances, but most believe that Kaepernick could have a least helped them remain in the mix.

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