Five years ago, the San Diego Chargers traded cornerback Antonio Cromartie to the New York Jets, combining him with Pro Bowler Darrelle Revis, in an effort to create a 'no-fly zone' at MetLife Stadium. In three years as a tandem, the team never finished worse than sixth in the NFL in pass defense. It peaked in 2012 as the second best secondary in the game (at least in terms of passing yards allowed), but then Revis got dealt to Tampa and the defense went from mediocre to bad (depending on how harsh a grader you are).
Now, in an effort to fix something that wasn't broken and then was, the team has reacquired both Revis and Cromartie. This is following reports that the Jets were the number one suitor for Cromartie. In fact, yesterday, Revis even said he'd like to "play Batman and Robin" with Cromartie again. Being compared to the lamest sidekick in superhero history apparently didn't deter Antonio from returning. The contract he inked today was reportedly for four years/$32 million dollars.
The Jets newest (former) acquisition will be turning 31 next month, but his game seems to be peaking as he's coming off three straight Pro Bowl trips. Last year with the Arizona Cardinals, he finished with 46 tackles, 12 passes defensed, and three interceptions.
It'll be interesting to see if the duo can have a more successful run in their second go-round (the Jets had one playoff appearance in their first three seasons together, advancing all the way to the 2010 AFC Championship game). But that's probably more dependent on the franchise acquiring a quarterback, at some point, before the season kicks off.
[via ESPN New York]
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