Antonio Cromartie says he’s planning on staying with the Jets, despite reports that re-signing him is not a top priority for the team.
“U know I could care less about a rumor because as of now and until me and my business partners are told otherwise I’m a JET to the end,” Cromartie wrote on his verified Twitter account Thursday. “Gang Green baby. Plus it’s just a rumor. Lol.”
The NFL Network reported Wednesday the Jets are not likely to re-sign the free agent cornerback.
But according to team sources, the Jets have not definitively decided to cut ties with Cromartie, one of several key free agents on their roster. Cromartie, though, is not the top priority to sign.
As multiple outlets, including The Post, have reported since the end of the season, receiver Santonio Holmes is the team’s top priority to re-sign. That’s because they consider him the most dangerous offensive playmaker on the team.
The Jets would like to re-sign receivers Braylon Edwards and Brad Smith as well as Cromartie, but they know that’s likely not realistic.
There has been speculation about Cromartie’s status with the team since the end of the season. His performance on the field, while mostly solid, was spotty at times.
He upset some people in the Jets organization when he called Patriots quarterback Tom Brady an unprintable name before the teams’ playoff showdown. He cursed out the NFL Players Association over the potential lockout, and he got into a Twitter war of words with Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, threatening him.
When Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum was asked several days after the season about Cromartie’s performance, his praise was lukewarm at best.
“By in large he had a good year for us on the field,” Tannenbaum said. “It wasn’t perfect, but he did everything we asked of him and he got better. Based on his entire body of work he is a guy we’d like to keep.”
There has been speculation about the Jets making a run at Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, considered along with Darrelle Revis among the best in the NFL.
Asomugha is a free agent, and he has talked in the past about wanting to team up with Revis. The price tag for that, however, would seem unrealistic.
With Mark Cannizzaro