Antonio Cromartie Signing Completes Jets' CB Overhaul, Puts Them All-In for 2015

There are a few teams across the NFL who are most certainly not messing around in free agency in 2015. Philadelphia Eagles Grand Poobah Chip Kelly seemingly can't go a day without making a huge move.

There's been more than a few big moves in the Big Apple as well. New York Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan has hit the ground running in his new gig, taking a buzzsaw to the team's beleaguered secondary in the interest of a big leap forward in 2015.

On Thursday, the Jets added their third cornerback in as many days—and a second familiar face. As Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reported, New York agreed to terms with free-agent cornerback Antonio Cromartie on a four-year, $32 million contract:

The move reunites Cromartie and fellow 2014 Pro Bowler Darrelle Revis, who signed a five-year, $70 million mega-deal with the Jets the previous day. In fact, Revis told Cimini he planned to reach out to Cromartie just after signing his deal, stating that he wants the "Batman-and-Robin tandem" together again.

Revis got his wish. The signing also reunites Cromartie with head coach Todd Bowles. After four years with the Jets, Cromartie spent 2014 in the desert with Bowles and the Arizona Cardinals.

It's appropriate that season was played in Phoenix, because Cromartie kind of rose from the ashes.

After a disastrous, injury-plagued 2013 in New York in which Cromartie was ranked 102nd among NFL cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus, New York let Cromartie go in a cost-cutting move. However, the nine-year veteran re-discovered his form with the Redbirds, making 52 tackles and three interceptions playing opposite Patrick Peterson.

That bounce-back perfromance, the Jets' swollen free-agent coffers in 2015 and the return of Revis (and his desire to re-unite with his old running mate) combined to make it a fait accompli that Cromartie was headed back to New York:

And it's not even a little bit hard to see why.

To say the NYJ secondary was a mess last year is one whopper of an understatement. Granted, the team ranked a decent 14th in the NFL in pass defense (234.1 yards per game), but no team in the AFC allowed more touchdown passes. Pro Football Focus didn't have a single Jets cornerback in its top 50.

Player	2014 Team	Contract	2014 PFF Rank*
Darrelle Revis	NE	5 years/$70 million	4
Antonio Cromartie	AZ	4 years/$32 million	45
Buster Skrine	CLE	4 years/$25 million	82

Now, this overhaul doesn't necessarily solve all that ails the secondary. The Jets still only have one cornerback on the roster who ranked inside PFF's top 40 last year (Revis). Cromartie was good for the Cardinals in 2014, but the argument can be made that his Pro Bowl nod had as much to do with reputation as performance.

It certainly wasn't an inexpensive proposition either. At $8 million annually, Cromartie will be making essentially the same amount the Jets balked at paying him two years ago. The deals for Revis, Cromartie and Buster Skrine total nearly $30 million in average annual salary.

That's a lot of cheese, especially when two of those players are the wrong side of 30.

In that respect, New York took a risk with Cromartie. And even if he pans out and the Jets secondary is wildly improved in 2015, there are still other issues facing the team.

Quarterback springs to mind.

However, there's no denying the defensive backfield was at or near the top of the Jets' "to-do" list. And if Maccagnan is as aggressive in addressing New York's other issues as he was the secondary, then you can bet the rent we haven't seen the last of New York's big changes just yet.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPManor.