- The Washington Times - Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Add Mark Sanchez to the growing list of quarterbacks who are hanging up their cleats and heading to a broadcast studio.

Sanchez is retiring from the NFL after a 10-year career with five teams and will become a college football commentator for ABC and ESPN, the New York Post reported.

After a stellar career at USC, the former No. 5 overall pick had a promising start to his NFL career, quarterbacking the New York Jets to the AFC Championship Game in each of his first two seasons.

But his production fell off after that, and his name became synonymous with the “Butt Fumble,” a play in which he accidentally ran into the backside of his own offensive lineman and dropped the football, leading to a New England Patriots return touchdown.

Sanchez’s final stop was an unceremonious stint with the Washington Redskins in 2018. The Redskins were hurting with Alex Smith and Colt McCoy both out with leg injuries, and Sanchez was hired off the street. In his only start for Washington, he went 6-for-14 for 38 yards with two interceptions, and the Redskins fell behind the New York Giants 40-0 before Sanchez was pulled from the game in favor of Josh Johnson.

The New York Post said Sanchez will work in ABC’s main college football studio, rather than traveling to games.

Just last week, Ryan Leaf joined ESPN to call college football games, and Fox recently announced a new studio show to compete with ESPN’s “College Gameday” that will feature Mark Leinart and Brady Quinn.

• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.

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