Santonio Holmes comes with a monster price tag, and not just the $7.5 million the Jets are paying him this season.
Holmes is a blend of playmaker, problem child and enigma who sometimes makes you wonder whether the price is worth the payoff. The price comes in the form of comments like the ones Holmes made Thursday, when he pointed a finger at quarterback Geno Smith and the rest of the offense. The payoff comes in games like he played two weeks ago against the Bills, when he caught the game-winning touchdown.
But the instances of Holmes putting the Jets on his shoulders have been outnumbered by dustups with teammates or a poor choice of words to the media.
The Jets gave Holmes a five-year $45 million deal in the summer of 2011. Since then, he has played 24 games. In that time, he has gone over 100 yards receiving just twice, including the 154-yard performance against Buffalo. He has had more than six catches in a game just once, has not recorded more than one touchdown in any game and has a total of 10 scores.
On Thursday, Holmes took a dig at the Jets’ offense and Smith, the rookie quarterback, in particular. Holmes was held to just one catch last week against the Titans, but, as usual, it wasn’t his fault. It was the person throwing it to him or the fact he was double-covered, not his inability to get open.
“I played 49 plays and all I know is that I had one catch. That’s all I can attest for,” Holmes said. “It’s the offense’s job. I can’t throw it to myself and catch it, otherwise I would.”
He added he is often double-covered, and that takes him out of the play because the quarterback moves to the next receiver in his reads. Funny, you don’t hear other No. 1 receivers, such as Calvin Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald, complaining about double-teams.
“It’s just immaturity,” one member of the Jets organization said about Holmes’ recent comments.
At 29, Holmes should be beyond maturity problems. But he showed his maturity level again Friday morning when he took to Twitter to voice his displeasure with the way his comments had been reported.
“What a great morning 2 awake 2 hear the media frenzy about Holmes quitting on his team, and he sucks, and he always blaming someone else,” he wrote.
He kept going: “For the record. This media stuff never distracts me, I hate that our #NyJets fans have to read this ‘crap’ when things aren’t going good.’’
He went on to retweet any fans that sided with him and blasted the media while ignoring the tweets that called him overrated.
Jets coach Rex Ryan has been around Holmes long enough now to be numb to his receiver’s antics, which he excused Friday. Ryan has seen Holmes quit on his team in Miami in 2011, undermine quarterback Mark Sanchez and throw the offensive line under the bus for protection problems. This was barely a blip on the radar for the man who ensured Ryan would never name another captain again.
“It was an unusual comment,” Ryan said. “He’s not the only one that makes those. He certainly didn’t mean it as a slight to Geno.”
Jets guard Willie Colon has known Holmes since both were drafted by the Steelers in 2006, and saw Holmes’ finest NFL moment when he was Super Bowl MVP for the Steelers in February 2009. Colon acknowledged Holmes is a different guy, but said what he does on the field makes everything else that comes with the Holmes package worth it.
“I don’t mind a receiver who wants the ball in a big way, wants the ball in a crucial situation,” Colon said. “Some guys don’t want the ball. He takes that head on. I’ve always appreciated that about him. Everything else? Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad.
“He’s a lot of things, but on game day, he’s our Superman. It is what it is.”
Superman won’t play Monday night in Atlanta after injuring his hamstring. These likely are the final months of Holmes in a Jets uniform. The team will save $8.25 million against the salary cap in 2014 by releasing him after this season with two years left on his contract.
The bill on Holmes is almost paid for the Jets. In the end, you have to ask whether he has been worth it.