Could the Jets reach into the not-so-distant past to solve their cornerback issue? Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson thinks so.
Speaking in Tempe, Ariz., Peterson said his Cardinals teammate Antonio Cromartie is very receptive to making the move back to New York and suiting up for the Jets again.
“I’m definitely trying to keep him here,” Peterson said, according to ESPN. “It’s going to be tough, especially with Todd [Bowles, former Cardinals defensive coordinator] being in New York, and he loves [New York]. That’s all he talks about is freaking New York. I’m definitely trying to get him to stay and we’ll see what happens.”
Cromartie will be up for grabs when NFL free agency opens next month. He admitted he’s attracted to the possibility of going back to the Big Apple, where he played under Rex Ryan from 2010 to 2013.
“My house is there, so it’s attractive. But if that doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen,” he said. “At the end of the day, I got to make sure that my options are open and making sure that whatever decision I make, that it’s related to my family and making sure we’re making the right decision not only for me but also for them. It not only affects me, it affects them also with changing schools and for my kids and everything.”
Healthy this past season after struggling with a hip pointer injury in 2013, Cromartie intercepted four passes — tied for 10th in the NFL — and made his third straight Pro Bowl appearance (fourth overall).
Cromartie is confident he will continue his resurgence, no matter where he goes.
“Everybody else knows what I can do when I’m healthy,” he said. “That’s what it’s really all about. I think it was just the point of getting back healthy and going back out and playing at a high level. That’s something that I figure I did this season. Not worried about anything else but that.”