McElroy’s concussion makes Sanchez starter for Jets
Rex Ryan stepped to the podium, looked out at the cameras and opened his news conference with a warning.
“You’re not going to believe this one,” the New York Jets coach declared without any hint of a smile.
In what has been a bizarre season, the Jets’ wacky quarterback situation took yet another twist. Greg McElroy has a concussion – which he didn’t reveal until Thursday – and will be replaced by Mark Sanchez as the starter in the season finale at Buffalo on Sunday.
“We’ve come to find out that Greg wasn’t exactly truthful with our training staff after the game,” said Ryan, who acknowledged he was “stunned” to hear the news. “He never disclosed that he had symptoms after the game to our trainers. Right now, he’s being evaluated for a concussion.”
McElroy, preparing to make his second NFL start in place of the benched Sanchez, was lifting weights Thursday and started experiencing headaches, Ryan said. McElroy went to the team’s training staff and then revealed he was suffering concussion-like symptoms after being sacked 11 times in the Jets’ 27-17 loss to San Diego last Sunday.
McElroy and head trainer John Mellody then went to Ryan to tell the coach the news. Offensive coordinator Tony Sparano said he was “pretty silent” when he found out a few minutes after Ryan.
“It’s another bump in the road here,” Sparano said, “and it’s something we’ve become a little accustomed to dealing with.”
Ryan chose to start Sanchez over Tim Tebow because the team has just two practices and a walkthrough to prepare before the game. He also cited Sanchez’s success against the Bills in the season opener, when he threw three touchdown passes in the Jets’ 48-28 win.
“I’m excited to play, obviously,” Sanchez said. “You just never want to see something like that happen to a teammate, somebody I really respect. You feel for Greg and I’ll be ready to play.”
Around the league
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