Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie has not had his best season in 2013, which puts him at risk of losing his spot with the Jets this offseason.
Cromartie is set to count $14.98 million under the salary cap in 2014, a hefty sum for a player whose performance was not up to that price tag this year. Cromartie’s number got that high after a restructure before this season pushed more money into next year and the cornerback said he’s willing to go that route again if it means staying with the Jets.
“Definitely,” Cromartie said, via the Newark Star-Ledger. “This is where I want to be. My family loves it here. I think the biggest thing, for me, is just to make sure that going into this last game I’m playing to the best of my ability. At the end of the day, no matter what you do, your last name is your resume. That’s how I want to go about it. I’m here. My family wants to be here, and this is where I want to retire.”
It’s the final year of Cromartie’s deal, so the Jets would have to add a year or more in order to spread out Cromartie’s cap hit. If they decided to cut him, they’d be left with $5.48 million in dead money while freeing up more than $9 million in space. With Mark Sanchez and Santonio Holmes expected to be gone, General Manager John Idzik could opt to go that route with Cromartie as well in hopes of freeing up as much cap space as possible in hopes of building a playoff team.