Thinking Outside The Box to Find Antonio Cromartie's Landing Spot

With the recent news coming out of San Diego that General Manager AJ Smith has placed cornerback Antonio Cromartie on the trading block, a whirlwind of potential suitors have emerged. Speculation has increasingly focused on the Dallas Cowboys and their crowded three man backfield.

However, with the increasing durability concerns of Marion Barber and the amount of injuries that Felix Jones has battled in his short time in the league, the backfield in Dallas seems to be filled with too much uncertainty to get rid of any one guy. Removing the Cowboys from the list of potential landing spots, I began to look around the league for a team with a few characteristics.

First, and most obviously, the team had to have a need for a cornerback. Second, that team needed to have a core group of defensive leaders that could push Cromartie to reach his true natural ability. And third, this team needed to possess a strong and deep group of running backs. Using these three guidelines I found the perfect landing spot for Antonio Cromartie: The Baltimore Ravens.

What Cromartie needs is a change of scenery, most importantly a change of locker rooms. What the Chargers have lacked during the Norv Turner era are leaders, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Cromartie has allowed himself to settle with being mediocre, and currently none of his teammates are willing to hold him accountable and push him to be a better player, to work on his craft, and maximize the awesome physical skill set that he possess.

If Cromartie landed in Baltimore, he would have Ray Lewis and Ed Reed by his side in the weight room, in the film room, and on the practice field pushing him to achieve success. What Cromartie lacks can be taught, what he possesses physically can not. He would be an immediate upgrade over both Chris Carr and Dominique Foxworth. But what do the Ravens have to offer the Chargers? You have to look deeply at the running back depth of the Baltimore Ravens.

They have a Pro Bowler in Ray Rice and a solid back up in Willis Mcgahee but behind both of them sits a relative unknown sixth round pick in Jalen Parmele, a 5'11" 221 pound back out of the University of Toledo. He was drafted in 2008 by the Miami Dolphins, where he became lost in the depth chart buried behind Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, and Patrick Cobbs. He had little chance of making any true contributions that early and behind that kind of depth. He was signed by the Ravens off the Dolphins practice squad in December of the 2008 season, but again, Parmele found himself in a crowded backfield.

In the preseason leading up to the 2009 season, former Chargers and current Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron spoke about Jalen's impressive training camp, “My gut feeling is that he will really shine in these preseason games, my gut feeling is he can break tackles. I have a feeling that this guy is powerful." Parmele was impressive and flashed some major ability in his limited action but due to the depth ahead of him had little opportunities in the regular season.

Parmele compiled an impressive career while at the University of Toledo. He was a first team All MAC selection, and he currently is the third leading rusher in the history of the MAC. A relative unknown to most NFL fans, Parmele has the size and speed combination that the Chargers are looking for to compliment their "lightning bug" Darren Sproles, he has also spent two seasons in Cam Cameron's offense, the same offense that the Chargers run.

The Chargers would obviously need to be asking also for a draft pick to go along with Parmele, but at this point I think the Chargers would be happy cutting their losses sooner rather then later, while also adding a running back with a huge amount of potential. In the end, I feel this trade would allow two players to change scenes and locker rooms and ultimately allowing each to reach their full potential.

It also fills a need that both teams are looking to address this off-season. While I will admit it is highly unlikely that it will work out, I do think it makes sense for both franchises and both players involved.