CORTLAND — The third time will be the final stop for Laveranues Coles.
The 32-year-old wide receiver, back with the Jets after two previous stints, will retire whenever this one is over — whether it’s in the preseason or with a Super Bowl victory.
“This is it,” Coles said Monday after the Jets’ first training camp practice. “This is the last hurrah. The boat stops here, trust me.”
Coles, entering his 11th season, signed a one-year contract last Friday with the team he began his career with in 2000. But both he and coach Rex Ryan acknowledged that it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be with the team even beyond training camp.
“He could get cut,” Ryan said. “He could make the Pro Bowl. But I was up front with him.”
Coles, who spent last season with Cincinnati after leaving New York as a free agent, will serve as insurance for Santonio Holmes — if he lasts beyond camp. Holmes was suspended four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
“I’m a realist,” Coles said. “I look at things the way it is. Of course they have a great core without me. The circumstances call for them to bring somebody else in like myself, a veteran guy, to try and help out while he’s gone.”
Coles signed a four-year, $28 million deal with the Bengals and then struggled, catching 43 passes for 514 yards and five touchdowns. Cincinnati released him in March, making him a free agent.
“We know at the end of the day with L.C., there is no guarantee that he makes it,” Ryan said. “He may go in and have an unbelievable season where it’s impossible to keep him off the field. But, I’m also realistic enough to know that Holmes comes back in Week 5, and Santonio Holmes is here. … It’s just an opportunity for us.”
Coles ranks fourth in team history — behind Don Maynard (627), Wayne Chrebet (580) and Al Toon (517) — with 459 catches. Coles is also 35th on the NFL’s career list for receptions.
“They got a chance at a trophy,” Coles said. “That was one of the big things for me — being a part of a team where I can go home and I know they have a chance to win. Again, I know right now we’re thinking short-term, but while I am here I’m going to give my 110 percent, and trust me, it’s going to be fun.”