Mark Sanchez's time with the Broncos is over. His time with the Cowboys is beginning.
After losing the Broncos' quarterback competition to Trevor Siemian this summer, Sanchez hit the open market as a free agent searching for his fourth team since 2012. That fourth team wound up being the Cowboys.
As ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported, the Broncos released Sanchez, which means they failed to find a trade partner. Schefter added that Sanchez will sign with the Cowboys, who are in need of a backup quarterback with Tony Romo out six to 10 weeks and rookie Dak Prescott taking over as the starter. The Cowboys then confirmed the signing.
Sanchez arrived in Denver with hopes of starting for the defending Super Bowl champs after they let Brock Osweiler walk in free agency. At his opening press conference after the Broncos traded for him, Sanchez even talked about how his lack of a love life would help him achieve his goals.
"Get in here and compete your butt off for a starting role. That's my goal to start this coming fall and be ready to play and help this team win," Sanchez said, via the Broncos' official website. "I'm not married. I don't have a girlfriend. I don't have kids. I just want to play ball and I want to win."
He immediately acted like the starter, organizing a passing camp in Southern California with the Broncos' offense. At that point in time, the Broncos were involved in trade discussions with the 49ers to bring Colin Kaepernick to Denver. That trade never materialized, and Sanchez clung to the starting job.
The Broncos ended up selecting Paxton Lynch in the draft, but still, Sanchez was seen as the frontrunner given his experience with the Jets and Eagles, which included 72 starts. But Sanchez struggled in the preseason and was ultimately beat out by Siemian. And with Paxton Lynch looking NFL-ready in the preseason, the Broncos' need for a veteran backup behind Siemian disappeared.
As The Denver Post's Nicki Jhabvala reported, cutting Sanchez saves the team $3.5 million in cap space and the 2017 conditional seventh-round pick they sent to Philadelphia to acquire Sanchez. Still, the Broncos probably wish they had found a trade partner before the roster deadline Saturday.
They were reportedly close to trading him to Dallas.
Instead, the Cowboys got their backup quarterback without giving up anything in return for his services, which have been known to include butt fumbles.