Cardinals land CB Cromartie

Antonio Cromartie is headed to Arizona. (USATSI)

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With Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu already making up a solid Cardinals secondary, Arizona appears to have gotten even stronger in the back end of its defense.

That's because the Cardinals have agreed to a one-year deal with former Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie, the team announced Thursday.

The #AZCardinals have agreed to terms with CB Antonio Cromartie (NYJ) on a one-year deal. (@CRO31) #NFLFreeAgency pic.twitter.com/ZLIZbxhojI

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) March 20, 2014

Cromartie is coming off a tough season as the No. 1 cornerback with the Jets last season, but he played well in 2012, and apparently, Arizona believes it'll have good use for the 29-year-old who ranks No. 22 on the CBSSports.com free agent list.

There were reports earlier this week that Cromartie wanted to return to New York, but the Jets -- who have failed to land a top-notch cornerback in free agency this season and, at this point, will go into the season with the struggling Dee Milliner as their No. 1 defensive back -- weren't all that interested.

Add that to the Jets refusal or failure to sign a cornerback like Darrelle Revis or Aqib Talib or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie or Vontae Davis -- all of which probably doesn't make Rex Ryan all that happy -- and you have to wonder if (or assume that) the Jets will land a cornerback in the early round of the draft.

Cromartie has had problems with his hip, though he didn't need offseason surgery, but the move seems like a solid signing for the Cardinals. They went 10-6 last year with a pass defense ranked 14th (and a run defense ranked No. 1), and assuming Cromartie is healthy, a move like this could help put Arizona in position to make the playoffs.

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Chargers GM: Ryan Mathews is still our bell cow RB



Ryan Mathews carried the ball 285 times last season, fourth-most in the NFL. Allhough injuries have certainly been a problem for him, both he and Danny Woodhead had career years for the Chargers in 2013. So why would the team go out and give Donald Brown a three-year deal to be a third wheel? Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said Wednesday it was about giving the offense more options, and he insinuated Brown's presence will not lead to a decreased workload for Mathews."We know Ryan is our bell cow," Telesco said during a radio interview. "He's our No. 1 back. He had an excellent year last year. And we all know what Danny Woodhead can do in his role. We saw that for 16 games last year. And we think Donald can come in and add to that, too, and give us some different options. And a different style, too. The more weapons we can have for Philip Rivers, the better."



All of this leads me to believe that Brown will be a younger edition of Ronnie Brown this season. He'll block, catch a couple of passes, and come in when Mathews needs a breather, If Mathews stays healthy, Brown will end up being an expensive insurance policy, but history tells us that the Chargers needed another between-the-tackles runner in the event that Mathews' health in 2013 turns out to be an outlier. But until an injury occurs, Mathews is a solid RB2, Woodhead is a solid RB2 in PPR leagues only, and Brown has minimal value in any format.