Mark Sanchez will have the opportunity to prove he's the rightful starter for the New York Jets as they open their preseason on the road against the hosting Detroit Lions on Friday night at 7:30 pm ET.

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Via SB Nation:

For the first time in his NFL career, Sanchez has an actual threat backing him up. Unlike Tim Tebow, Greg McElroy or Mark Brunell, rookie Geno Smith comes into the organization with high expectations. The Jets did not draft Smith to sit on the bench for his entire career and if Sanchez falters even a little bit, the hook to pull him will come a lot quicker than the one that Rex Ryan held last year without any good backup options.

That first step for Sanchez to either get a tighter grip on the job or to open the door wider for Smith starts in the first preseason game against the Lions on Friday.

Once Sanchez gets his reps, the team is going to take a long look at Smith, the 39th overall pick who put up mind-boggling numbers for West Virginia last year: 4,205 passing yards, 42 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. But Smith, once thought to be a candidate to go first overall, only saw his stock fall during the pre-draft process and he was left without a team after day one of the draft, until the Jets took him in the second round.