New York Jets quarterback Greg McElroy to start in Week 16 – NFL News
New York Jets have finally decided to bench their out-of-form quarterback Mark Sanchez as they announced on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 that third-string quarterback Greg McElroy will start Week 16 tie against San Diego Chargers on Sunday, December 23.
Jets head coach Rex Ryan made the announcement that meant both the Sanchez as well as backup quarterback Tim Tebow were sidelined in favour of McElroy.
Ryan refused to give the reason behind making the third-tier quarterback the starter. During a conference call on Tuesday night, Ryan said:
"I can answer this question a million ways -- frontward, backward, sideways, anything else, It's my decision and I based it on a gut feeling or whatever. Everything it comes down to is, I believe it's the best decision for our team. That's the only factor
that goes into these decisions."
Ryan reiterated that it is his own decision to make McElroy the starter and owner Woody Johnson had no influence over the decision making.
This decision could have big repercussions on Ryan’s future. The Jets have both Sanchez and Tebow under contract up to 2016 and 2014 respectively.
This means that if the coach decides to get rid of both the players in the coming offseason, it would cost the franchise quite a lot of bucks. However, Ryan does not seem to be concerned about it right now. The coach went on and said:
"In dealing with it, I told Mark, 'I think we need to make a change,' and he respected my decision. That's not easy, that's for sure. . . I'd rather not look at what's behind me. I'd rather look what's in front of me. I'm going to put Greg out there.”
Ryan has not yet designated who will be the backup quarterback for the next game. McElroy has previously played just one game in his career.
McElroy scored the winning points in first drive after replacing Sanchez during Week 13 victory over Arizona Cardinals. He was drafted by Jets in the seventh round (208th overall pick) in the 2011 draft.
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