By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Jets head coach Rex Ryan said quarterback Mark Sanchez will start in Sunday's big match in Chicago following a injury to his throwing arm in last week's game, according to reports.
With torn cartilage in Sanchez' right shoulder, Ryan initially said he was 99 percent sure Sanchez would start Sunday's game. He changed his tune by Friday morning but then doubled backed.
"This could be more of a game-time type decision than I thought it would be," Ryan said, according to the New York Post.
But Sanchez was apparently throwing well enough to play during team practice Friday, and the Post updated the story in the afternoon, saying that Sanchez will start the game despite his "slight cartilage tear."
The second-string quarterback, 40-year-old Mark Brunell, was preparing for a possible start, the Post reported.
Ryan said he'd be comfortable starting Brunell against the NFC north leading Bears (10-4) for the Christmas weekend away match.
"We're not talking about a guy that never did it in his career. This guy has done it all. He was a Pro Bowl quarterback," Ryan told reporters.
Sanchez, leading the 10-4 Jets, played through the injury in last week's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
