CORTLAND — Nick Mangold thought about taking the same route as teammate Darrelle Revis and holding out at the start of training camp.
But unlike Revis, the Jets’ center arrived at SUNY Cortland yesterday, and was at peace with his decision.
“I’m a football player,” Mangold said. “It’s just one of those things where I decided, after thinking about every option and everything, to be here and put my best foot forward and try to have a good time up here in beaut-iful Cortland.”
Mangold is set to make $3.495 million this season, the final year of the rookie contract he signed in 2006. After making the Pro Bowl each of the past two seasons, he hoped to receive the same treatment as left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson, who received a six-year, $60 million extension earlier this offseason.
But when he had to decide whether to hold out of camp, Mangold simply looked in the mirror.
“It took a lot of time to come to [the decision], but in the end, it’s who I am, and I’m not gonna stray from who I am,” he said. “I didn’t want to cross that bridge of trying to change who I am.”
Mangold admitted, though, that he isn’t sure it is the right business decision, and said it is something he could be left thinking about if it doesn’t work out.
“That’s to be seen,” he said. “That’s one of those great hindsight questions, when you get to look back and say, ‘I wish I would have done this’ or ‘I wish I would have done that.’ I’m happy with the decisions I’ve made and how I’ve gone about it, and I’m still proud of everything I’ve done.”
Although Revis chose to go in a different direction in his attempt to get a new contract, Mangold said he wasn’t upset with the way his teammate was handling the situation, and hoped it would be resolved quickly.
“He’s gotta do what he’s gotta do,” Mangold said. “I don’t hold it against him, I completely understand it, and I hope that they can get it resolved so he can get in here.”
tbontemps@nypost.com