Antonio Cromartie open to return to Jets after Todd Bowles hire

Antonio Cromartie is open to returning to the Jets now that Todd Bowles is head coach.

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Cornerback Antonio Cromartie spent four seasons under Rex Ryan as a member of the New York Jets, but he has spent some time with the team’s new head coach as well. Cromartie spent this past season under Todd Bowles, who served as the Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator before jumping to New York to become the head coach of the Jets.

So it’s not a stretch to say Cromartie has a good idea about what both coaches bring to the table. In fact, he knows exactly what the Jets are getting in the recently hired Bowles as the team decided to stick with a defensive minded coach after already having one in Rex Ryan.

Cromartie is a fan of the hire, and has come out to publicly endorse Bowles for the job he will do next season wit the Jets.

“I think it’s a great hire,” said Cromartie, according to NFL.com. “The reason why I say that is he is one of the smartest coaches I’ve been around.”

He continued by saying that his former head coach Rex Ryan and Jets’ defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman were extremely smart coaches, and Bowles is right there with them. Bowles can tell exactly what the offense is going to do just by noticing little things, such as how the offensive lineman line up or how the quarterback is standing.

Todd Bowles is also a New Jersey native, growing up in Elizabeth, New Jersey. So, returning to his home state and coaching the New York Jets, he should be very passionate and the fans should receive him well.

Coincidentally enough, Cromartie knows exactly how much cap space the Jets have and by endorsing Bowles may be giving Jets management a little hint-hint wink-wink about a possible return. Cromartie will be a free-agent once the market opens at 4 P.M. on March 10 if the Cardinals don’t offer him an extension before then.

When asked if he is open to returning to the Jets, he replied by saying he is “leaving the door open.” He says that until the Super Bowl is over, he’s still an Arizona Cardinal. If he is not offered a contract before March 10th, then he is free game and he will see what offers he gets in the open market.

Cromartie obviously seems to be very fond of Bowles, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him end up back with Big Green. Cromartie will no doubt demand a good chunk of that $50 million in cap space though, and the Jets are already pretty stocked up with defensive personal. As we all know, defense was not the issue last season for the Jets.

The Jets may want to focus on using most of that $50 million on re-tooling the offense, giving Geno Smith better protection and more offensive weapons to work with.

[H/T: NFL.com]

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