There’s nothing like the possibility of a run-oriented quarterback with accuracy issues to bring a team’s current starter and otherwise disgruntled receiver closer.
Mark Sanchez and Santonio Holmes are working out this week in Florida, in advance of the launch of the team’s offseason program, according to Jenny Vrentas of the Newark Star-Ledger.
Also working out with Sanchez and Holmes are tight end Dustin Keller and receiver Patrick Turner. Running back Joe McKnight may be joining the group.
“Mark was in charge, everyone was listening to his instructions,” trainer Tom Shaw told Vrentas. “Guys from other teams, too. [Titans running back] Chris Johnson, Larry Taylor, who used to be with the Jets. Once we finished the workout for the day, Sanchez took over. He was in charge of the whole offensive part. He is working hard, and he’s doing everything he can to get better.”
Shaw downplayed accounts of past problems between Sanchez and Holmes. “I know for a fact Santonio Holmes and Mark Sanchez are close,” Shaw said.
That’s a sharp contrast to the assessment given earlier this year by a guy who was in the locker room, running back LaDainian Tomlinson. “It is as bad as I’ve ever been around, honestly,” Tomlinson said of the relationship between quarterback and receiver.
Regardless, the presence of Tim Tebow forces the two men to find a way to work better together. Otherwise, Sanchez will be standing on the sidelines, and Holmes will be trying to catch stones that are skipping across the surface of a pond.