Cromartie’s goodbye

Antonio Cromartie spent the last four seasons with the Jets. (USATSI)

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It sounds like the Jets are parting ways with cornerback Antonio Cromartie. As Cromartie tweets.

I would like 2 thank the Jets organization so much with helpin me grow as leader and a player. S/O 2 my teammates I wish u guys the best.

— ANTONIO CROMARTIE (@CRO31) March 9, 2014

I would also like to give a big up to The Jets Fan base. Thank you for all the support thru my 4 yr career with you. Thank you again.

— ANTONIO CROMARTIE (@CRO31) March 9, 2014

It's time for a new chapter in my life and now it's time to let my lord and savior lead my steps every step of the way.

— ANTONIO CROMARTIE (@CRO31) March 9, 2014

Later on Sunday, the team officially announced that it had released Cromartie with coach Rex Ryan saying in a statement, "Cro is one of the finest athletes I've ever coached. He was willing to contribute wherever the team needed him to win games, be it defense, special teams or offense. He has a passion and enthusiasm for the game and I wish him and his family the best."

Cromartie, who will turn 30 next month, has played for the Jets for the past four seasons, and though he performed well in 2012 -- especially after Darrelle Revis was lost for most of the season -- he struggled in 2013 (according to Pro Football Focus' measurements, he was the 103rd-ranked cornerback out of 110).

But the move isn't a surprise. Cromartie was due a base salary of $4.3 million in 2014, and his salary cap hit would have been nearly $15 million -- the highest total on the team. As it is, he leaves behind $5.48 million of dead money.

Plus, Cromartie expected this transaction.

“Just because my cap number is very high," Cromartie said in January. "And I had one of the worst seasons of my career this past year. I was banged up. I got hurt in Week 2, but that's not an excuse ... I just had a bad year. That falls heavily on me and no one else.”

The good news for Cromartie. The Packers jut gave cornerback Sam Shields a four-year deal worth $39 million, and though it's unlikely Cromartie will get an offer of that magnitude, the free agent market for cornerbacks, if Shields is any indication, is quite healthy.

NFL Hot News

Cardinals RB Mendenhall retiring; Ellington's fantasy stock rising



Unrestricted free agent running back Rashard Mendenhall, who played last season with the Arizona Cardinals will retire, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported via his Twitter account Saturday night.Mendenhall was selected by Pittsburgh in the first round of the 2008 draft and played five seasons in Pittsburgh before coming to the desert to play for the Cardinals in 2013. While he did Arizona in rushing yards (687) and touchdowns (8), he was less than impressive when given carries, averaging only 3.2 yards per carry. He spent much of the season simply frustrating a Cardinals fanbase who would have rather seen the bulk of the carries go to rookie Andre Ellington, who averaged 5.5 ypc. Ellington ran for almost as many yards as Mendenhall on 99 fewer carries.



Mendenhall is retiring... from a fantasy perspective, this is not huge news. Anyone who retires from the NFL at the age of 26, simply doesn't have the desire to play anymore. From my perspective, Mendenhall is to be commended for this decision. He could have stayed in the league for a handful more years, made several million dollars, and frustrated fantasy owners who were just hoping he'd recatch the form that made him a 1,200 yard /13 touchdown back in 2010.As for what this DOES mean... There was concern that Bruce Arians may try to squeeze another year out of "his guy". He was the one who brought Mendenhall to Arizona, after having coached him during better times in Pittsburgh. Now that this is not a possibility, Andre Ellington is set to be a fantasy beast in 2014. He had a good rookie season that could have been great, given more opportunities. His 5.5 ypc clip is mind-boggling and not surprising at the same time. If you saw the kid play last season, you saw that he had a natural ability to find holes and hit them for big plays. Oh, and he's pretty good at catching the ball out of the backfield, too.And let's not forget 2nd year RB Stepfan Taylor. This surely gives him the opportunity he's been looking for as well. Personally speaking, I love Ellington in 2014. Lock him in as a top 10 RB... potentially top 5 in PPR formats.