Former NY Jets QB Mark Sanchez joins FOX as game analyst

Joining FOX as a game analyst, Mark Sanchez will be a weekly fixture on Sundays for the first time since he was the NY Jets’ quarterback.

According to the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand, former New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez will be joining the FOX Network as a game analyst for the NFL on FOX.

The Post notes that Sanchez has not officially signed his new contract just yet, but the expectation is that it is finished sooner rather than later.

Sanchez will take the color commentator role alongside play-by-play man Kevin Kugler. He fills the spot vacated by Chris Spielman, who left the network during December of the 2020 season to join the Detroit Lions’ front office as the special assistant to the owner and CEO.

In addition, Sanchez is likely to appear on Fox Sports 1’s weekday programming.

The 34-year-old former top-five pick played his last NFL snap for Washington in 2018 before announcing his retirement the following year. After hanging up the cleats, he had been working for ESPN, primarily contributing to the network’s college football coverage.

Sanchez was unable to find an established NFL home following his five seasons in New York (2009-13). He had stints with the Philadelphia Eagles (2014-15), Denver Broncos (2016), Dallas Cowboys (2016), and Chicago Bears (2017) prior to spending to concluding his career with a 2018 stay in Washington.

Despite failing to reach his potential as a Jet, Sanchez remains one of the most accomplished starters in franchise history. He ranks fifth on the team’s all-time list in regular-season victories (33), first in playoff victories (4), sixth in passing yards (12,092), and sixth in passing touchdowns (68).

Sanchez remains the franchise’s most recent quarterback to hold the starting job for four consecutive seasons.

Sanchez is not the only Jets icon from the 2000s who will be analyzing plays from the FOX booth in 2021.

Former Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma was added to FOX’s coverage in 2020, calling games alongside Kenny Albert (son of Marv Albert, who recently called his last-ever NBA game). Vilma called the Jets’ 31-13 defeat to the 49ers at MetLife Stadium in Week 2 of last season.

Joining FOX’s team alongside Sanchez this year will be former Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, and Seattle Seahawks tight end Greg Olsen, who will be working with Kevin Burkhardt.

The Paterson, NJ native called it quits with a career total of 8,863 receiving yards, which ranks sixth-best in NFL history among tight ends. Olsen closed his career with a 24-catch season as a Seahawk after nine seasons in Carolina.

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