The trade last night for Antonio Cromartie, for a third-round 2011 draft pick that could end up as a second-rounder, means the Jets won’t have to draft a cornerback in the first round of next month’s NFL Draft to team with Darrelle Revis.
They might, however, have to draft a guidance counselor or probation officer.
Buyer beware.
The game has sure changed in Florham Park since Eric Mangini tip-toed out and Rex Ryan barged in.
Out are the Boy Scouts.
In are the Bad Boys.
The Jets are going for it all in 2010 in their new stadium, that much is evident.
This move is plain and simple a referendum on Ryan: Can he motivate a head case with baggage and give the Jets the most formidable cornerback tandem in the game?
It was Mangini, of course, who traded Braylon Edwards to his old pal, Trader Mike Tannenbaum, in October.
Edwards, 27, honored his immense talent in 2007 — and 2007 only — with an 80-catch, 16 TD season, but since then has dropped too many passes and got into that infamous scrape with LeBron James’ cousin in a Cleveland nightclub.
Now it is Chargers GM A.J,. Smith gleefully washing his hands of Cromartie, a player as physically gifted on defense as Edwards is on offense. Except that Edwards is Cromartie Lite.
The 6-foot-2, 203-pound Cromartie, the 19th pick of the 2006 draft, honored his immense talent in 2007 — and 2007 only — with a 10-interception season, but it seems that he has a different set of skill sets away from the field.
Cromartie, 26 next month, according to reports, has at least seven children with six different women in five different states. In other words, he isn’t imposing only in the hotel lobby.
So what Ryan has on his hands now, opposite Revis Island, is Temptation Island.
Tannenbaum rolled the dice, and make no mistake, this is a huge gamble.
An NFL arbitrator ruled that Cromartie owed his former agent, Jason Fletcher, $32,000 in fees.
Cromartie’s excuse: child-support issues.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Cromartie has been $25,000 in arrears in child support for the mother of one of his children.
Then he was fined $2,500 by the Chargers for complaining about the food in training camp via Twitter: “Man we have to have the most nasty food of any team. . . . maybe that’s y we can’t we (cq) the Super Bowl we need.”
Then there was the 1 a.m. incident when a man sustained a cut to the back of his head when the Chargers returned home from Denver to celebrate a victory over the Broncos. Cromartie said a champagne bottle slipped from his hand.
Cromartie also has tackling issues. In the playoff game against the Jets, he stayed as far away from Shonn Greene as humanly possible, then raced frantically after him just to get in a cowardly shoulder bump in the end zone. It’s not easy making Deion Sanders look like Ray Lewis.
Look, this is a steal only if Ryan can get through to this guy. If he can, Cromartie can be Robin to Revis’ Batman behind the wave of blitzers Ryan will send at the quarterback.
If he can’t, the Joker wears green and white,