New York Jets: Mark Sanchez, Peyton Manning, Plaxico Burress?

With free agency looming around the corner, it seems like the rumor mill is flying in New York, and the Jets, just like the Giants, can’t seem to stay out of the talks.

This week, Plaxico Burress was interviewed and asked about his status as a free agent:

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"Obviously coming to Philadelphia, instituting myself into the offense, it just adds a unique dynamic to what's already in place. You look at LeSean McCoy and what he did this year—he had probably the best year of any back, he and Maurice Jones-Drew. And everybody knows about what DeSean is capable of being one of the most explosive big play receivers in all of football. And Jeremy Maclin who is just getting better and better. And myself, I just see myself in that offense just being out there on the edge."

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Coming to Philadelphia? Did Plax get a secret memo stating they were interested? There is no doubt he was one of the most effective red-zone receivers in the league—the key word being “was.”

What I found more interesting is the fact that the so-called “Dream Team” (as Vince Young put it last year) is so stacked with young great receivers, there is no need for an aging receiver way past his prime.

While Plaxico claims the Jets have left the door open for him to return, I think the only thing that made sense were his comments about Mike Vick: "I really think he can bring a championship to Philadelphia, and I would love to be a part of that."

As the rumors about Peyton Manning continue to fly in Indy, they have also come to New York again after Tannenbaum decided to say this:

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“We don’t need to bring in another guy to make Mark Sanchez great. Mark Sanchez wants to be great because that’s who he is,” with that said, we’re looking at that position very carefully and I wouldn’t be surprised if at the end of the day, by September, that position group as a whole looks a little bit different than it did at the end of the 2011 season.”

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Now obviously this is an open-ended quote. I mean, if I were Sanchez, I'm thinking: “If I am the guy, just say it.” But obviously the business of being general manager seems to require you to be as vague as possible.

I definitely think the Jets need to put some heat on Sanchez, something to get his competitive spirit going. It makes sense to light a fire under the young QB, but it’s also important to be very careful not to discourage the young QB into total regression.

Personally bringing in a veteran with an elite status like Peyton Manning seems like a stretch. I think the entire Brett Favre experiment proved one thing: You don’t bring in an aging vet at the end of his career because even if he does win a lot of games, the moment he decides to leave, you’re automatically guaranteed to wait at least year to get a favorable draft pick to rebuild.

If the Jets learned anything the first time around with the “Old Gunslinger,” it should be that even though Mark Sanchez isn’t an elite QB, they were lucky enough to be able to draft him after No. 4 left.

However, they shouldn’t expect to get that lucky again should Manning by chance come to New York and not work out.