CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Antonio Cromartie was bitterly disappointed after his Cardinals were eliminated from the NFL playoffs with a 27-16 loss to the Panthers on Saturday at Bank of America Stadium. But when he saw a familiar face from the New York media, the first thing out of his mouth was, “They shouldn’t have fired Rex.”
Cromartie, 30, played with the Jets for four seasons from 2010-13, but was not re-signed by then-general manager John Idzik, who decided the nine-year veteran from Florida State wasn’t worth any of the $20 million of cap money that went unused for most of the year.
The Jets hoped Dee Milliner and promising rookie Dexter McDougle would hold down the position with free agent Dimitri Patterson as a backup. But Milliner missed most of camp with an ankle sprain then was lost for the season with a torn Achilles tendon six games into action.
McDougle tore the ACL in his left knee during training camp and was out for the year, while Patterson went AWOL and was released before the season began. As a result, the Jets situation at cornerback was a mess all season and contributed greatly to the 4-12 record that got coach Rex Ryan and Idzik fired.
“I don’t think they should have fired [Ryan],” Cromartie told The Post. “I think he’s a great head coach. He got guys to believe in him and understand him and know what he wants. They had a coach who had been there and had a foundation set. Yes, it was a bad year for them going 4-12. But he was going to get a lot of his guys back [next year] from injuries and would be ready to play in 2015 season.”
Cromartie signed a one-year deal worth $3.2 million with the Cardinals. He had three interceptions during the regular season and added a big pick on Saturday that temporarily gave Arizona momentum.
It came with 4:54 remaining in the first half. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was trying to throw to another former Jet, Jerricho Cotchery. But Cotchery went deep when Newton threw short and Cromartie was there to make the interception.
Still showing good speed, he returned the ball 50 yards to the Carolina 17. Arizona eventually scored a touchdown to take a 14-10 lead before the Panthers added a field goal with five seconds left in the half to close to 14-13.
“It gave us a little momentum,” Cromartie said. “But you can’t let a team go down on the last drive and kick a field goal. I put a lot of that on myself by getting a pass interference penalty and then getting another play thrown right in front of me. It’s just a matter of understanding they can’t get three points when they’re in their 2-minute offense. We have to make sure they don’t get any points.”
Cromartie will be a free agent but said he hopes to return to the Cardinals.
“Hopefully, I’m here,” he said. “I can still play.”