Tone Time has finally run out for the Jets.
In a move that has been talked about for months, the Jets released controversial wide receiver Santonio Holmes on Monday, saving the team $8.25 million in salary-cap space. The Jets released Holmes one day after cutting cornerback Antonio Cromartie.
Holmes, 30, spent four seasons with the Jets after arriving in a trade from the Steelers. Holmes never developed into the top receiver the Jets had hoped when they dealt a fifth-round pick for him in 2010 and then signed him to a five-year, $45 million in 2011.
Instead, Holmes feuded with teammates and battled injury over his final two seasons with the Jets. Holmes had just 23 catches for 456 yards and one touchdown in 2013.
“I appreciate Tone’s contributions over the last four seasons,” coach Rex Ryan said in a statement. “I’ve always admired his knack for making the clutch play. He’s a tremendous competitor who wants the ball in his hands when the game is on the line. I wish him nothing but the best.”
The Jets are now approximately $39 million under the salary cap after cutting Cromartie and Holmes. They can move another $8 million under by releasing quarterback Mark Sanchez, a move that is expected in the coming weeks.
Wide receiver figures to be the Jets’ top priority in free agency when it begins at 4 p.m. Tuesday. With Holmes gone, Stephen Hill, Jeremy Kerley and David Nelson are left as the team’s top receivers. The top receivers available in free agency are the Broncos’ Eric Decker, the Giants’ Hakeem Nicks, the Seahawks’ Golden Tate, the Patriots’ Julian Edelman and the Steelers’ Emmanuel Sanders.
Former general manager Mike Tannenbaum dealt for Holmes in April 2010, just days after the NFL announced Holmes would be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season after violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
After sitting out those games, Holmes made a quick impression on the team and was a key piece of several late comeback wins that season. He seemed to have a strong chemistry with Sanchez, then in his second season, and the team re-signed him the following July to the monster contract.
But signs that he may be a problem surfaced quickly. On the day he signed his new deal with the Jets, he tweeted out a photo of himself shirtless, drinking a bottle of pricey champagne.
When a few of the Jets coaches saw the photo on the front page of The Post the following day, one remarked “what have we done?”
Sources said Holmes, who Ryan named a captain, was unbearable that season and let everyone know he had gotten paid.
A rift developed between him and Sanchez that grew throughout the year. He also feuded with offensive lineman Brandon Moore and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.
It all boiled over at the end of that 2011 season when he walked out of a meeting organized by Sanchez and days later fought with teammates on the field in the Jets’ season finale against the Dolphins. He sat on the bench for the final two minutes of the game, the most memorable image of Holmes’ time with the Jets.
His 2012 season lasted only four games as he suffered a Lisfranc injury in his left foot and missed the rest of the season. Holmes could not even get injured without controversy. He injured the foot on a catch against the 49ers, but threw the football away and it was returned for a touchdown.
Holmes missed all of training camp in 2013, but returned at the start of the season and had a five-catch, 154-yard performance in the third game of the year against the Bills. He also caught the game-winning touchdown. But a week later, Holmes injured his right hamstring against the Titans. The injury cost him five games and he was never quite the same when he returned.