BOCA RATON, Fla. — The Broncos acquired Mark Sanchez, but they certainly don’t trust him.
That was the word Tuesday from Denver coach Gary Kubiak, who said the star-crossed former Jets quarterback won’t be handed the starting job even though Sanchez is the only experienced passer currently on the roster.
“Mark is going to have to make us comfortable,” Kubiak said during the AFC coaches’ breakfast. “He’s going to have to come in and do his job. Mark hasn’t asked for anything. He just wants an opportunity to compete. We can give him a tremendous opportunity to do that right now.”
Kubiak’s extremely tepid assessment of Sanchez is a strong indication the reigning Super Bowl champions aren’t done with the quarterback position after Peyton Manning retired and Brock Osweiler bolted to the Texans.
The Broncos are expected to draft a passer next month and still are thought to be considering signing Jets’ free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick or trading for the 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick.
Sanchez never was able to win the starting job in two seasons with the Eagles after being cut by the Jets. Kubiak said Sanchez’s early success — back-to-back AFC Championship game trips in his first two seasons — are what intrigued the Broncos.
“He’s been on some big stages, and now he’s got an excellent chance to get back on one again,” Kubiak said.
The owners passed seven of the 19 proposed rules changes Tuesday, most notably banning all chop blocks and making the extended spot for extra points permanent.
A proposal to move touchbacks to the 25-yard line (from the current 20) in hopes of decreasing kick returns was the subject of the most intense debate — coaches are opposed — and could be voted on Wednesday.
The owners also tabled the so-called Odell Beckham Rule that would result in an automatic ejection for two personal fouls in the same game, but Giants co-owner John Mara said that could be taken up again at the next owners meetings in May.
The owners, meanwhile, are expected to resume debate Wednesday on a proposal from the Ravens to greatly expand the plays eligible for replay review.
Baltimore coach John Harbaugh offered a spirited defense of that proposal Tuesday, saying it would help increase player safety if controversial hits were open to replay.
The Browns appear to be warming up to Robert Griffin III after the surprisingly strong endorsement the free-agent quarterback received Tuesday from new coach Hue Jackson.
Griffin has visited Cleveland and the Jets since being released by the Redskins this month.
“Our visit was very informative, with lot of dialogue back and forth,” Jackson said. “A lot of tough questions asked, a lot of tough questions answered. I don’t baby people. Sorry, it’s just not who I am. I ask the tough questions and expect some tough answers, and he handled all that extremely well.
“At the same time nothing’s decided or anything. But I felt better about him because he answered some questions I had, and I thought he represented himself the right way.”
The comment to Congress last week by a high-ranking NFL executive acknowledging a link between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) isn’t going over well with some of the owners.
Jerry Jones flatly contradicted NFL vice president of health and safety Jeff Miller, telling reporters it is “absurd” to link football and CTE because there isn’t enough data yet.
Jones’ response to Miller’s comment — the first time the league ever had admitted a link — indicates the issue is likely to cause further internal turmoil, largely because it could expose the league to further liability and potentially jeopardize the NFL’s concussion settlement.
Jones apparently still hasn’t given up on Johnny Manziel, but the Dallas owner said Manziel won’t be in a Cowboys uniform anytime soon.
“I don’t even dare, right now, go into picturing him in a training camp or an OTA or him in a game,” Jones said of Manziel.
Jones said Dallas won’t consider the troubled quarterback until a domestic violence investigation of Manziel is cleared up and Manziel can prove to the Cowboys that he is far along in recovery from his alcohol and drug issues.