One day after the New York Jets trimmed some fat off of their roster, they’ve begun the process of securing their high-end talent.
Per ESPN, two of the Jets’ restricted free agents – wide receiver Santonio Holmes and cornerback Antonio Cromartie — have been given the highest tender offers by the organization.
If a team wants to acquire one of the above players, they’ll have to surrender a first and third-round draft pick; basically, they will likely not be leaving New York.
However, this is all assuming a new collective bargaining agreement gets worked out as the current one is set to expire on Thursday. Under the old CBA, Holmes and Cromartie are considered restricted free agents because they both have five years of experience in the league. Both would pull in about $3.5 million on the one-year contract.
Holmes, who came up with numerous clutch plays for the Jets last season, is thought to be their number one priority. The Jets will surely work on locking Holmes up long-term, though nothing is expected to happen before the CBA expires. After missing the first four weeks due to an NFL-mandated suspension, Holmes burst onto the scene and single-handily snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for New York with some spectacular touchdown receptions. He finished the year with 52 receptions for 746 yards and five touchdowns. Holmes could conceivably double those numbers if quarterback Mark Sanchez has a breakthrough third year as most signal-callers usually do.
Cromartie had the unenviable task of playing opposite shutdown corner Darrelle Revis. While he showed his patented athleticism and long-stride ability, Cromartie had trouble in zone defenses — one of the reasons why the Chargers were so eager to unload him. He also couldn’t keep up at times when he was outmuscled or outran by opposing receivers. It seems as if Cromartie’s very gifted, but his technique needs a lot of polish. Nevertheless, teams continually targeted him, while avoiding Revis, and he had a solid 2010 campaign for all intents and purposes.
Though general manager Mike Tannenbaum recently hinted that Cromartie’s comments toward Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the NFL Players Association didn’t sit well with the organization, New York doesn’t really have a viable replacement on the roster. Not to mention they already surrendered a second-round pick for him. He’ll form a formidable duo with Revis once again if he’s still on the team come September.
In related news, according to the Newark Star-Ledger, running back Shonn Greene is expected to be the Jets’ feature back going forward. While LaDainian Tomlinson is set to return for another season, Greene will likely handle the bulk of the carries; as opposed to last season when LT was atop the depth chart. Tomlinson will take a back-seat to the third-year man out of Iowa, meaning Greene should eclipse 200 carries in 2011.
