Cromartie signs with Cardinals, takes parting shot at Jets

David Drapkin/AP
Another day, another Cromartie lost by the Jets. Just days after seeing Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie spurn them for the Giants, the Jets saw his cousin Antonio Cromartie sign a one year deal with the Arizona Cardinals today. Financial terms have yet to be disclosed.

The 29 year old Cromartie spent four mostly productive years in New York, but struggled playing through a hip flexor injury in 2013. His release earlier this month came as a surprise to no one, as Cromartie was due $14.98 million on the cap in the final year of his contract. However, both team and player seemed open to the possibility of a reunion, depending on what transpired in the open market.

By the looks of these (since deleted) tweets, Cromartie wasn't happy about how negotiations went.

courtesy of NJ.com

He then claimed those tweets were accidentally sent from his wife (who has a history of bashing the Jets on Twitter).




All of this drama is fun and good, but it may be the appetizer to a main course of Rex Ryan and GM John Izdik considering how this offseason is going. Ryan, who prefers a press-man scheme that requires elite cover corners, was reportedly frustrated when management made no serious attempt to sign Darrelle Revis and allowed him to waltz on over to hated division rival New England. He was reportedly miffed again on Monday after losing out on another top corner in Rodgers-Cromartie.

We already knew there was at least some tension between Rex and the front office, considering the front office reportedly came very close to firing him just three months ago. However, this offseason seems to have exacerbated those tensions, and there's clearly a disconnect between the vision of the coaching staff and front office.

The Jets have a big need for a top cover corner. They have $26.4 million in cap space, and can create $8.3 more by putting Mark Sanchez out of his misery. Yet, two years after having both Revis and Cromartie, Ryan is faced with the very real possibility of entering the season with this.


Both Ryan and Izdik talked nice when facing the press today, but it will be surprising if both are still with the Jets at this time next year. This has every tell-tale sign of a typical incoming GM/incumbent Head Coach power struggle. Those normally end up with the GM firing the coach, which will make things very interesting if Rex can figure out a way to get these Jets to the playoffs in 2014.

As for Cromartie, he and Patrick Peterson will be one of the top cornerback duos in the league if he regains his 2012 form with better health. Expect the Cardinals, who have had a sneaky good offseason so far, to put up a good fight next year, even in the NFC West.

Post a Comment
Share