Now that the Jets are out of the Nnamdi Asomugha sweepstakes, they need to find a way forward this offseason. There are still holes at cornerback and wide receiver. That begs the question of whether they should just try and find a way to sign the incumbents, Braylon Edwards and Antonio Cromartie.
I think the answer at wide receiver is simple. Perhaps you sacrifice Braylon if it means getting the second best corner in the league, but now that Nnamdi is gone, and there is money to spend, he is the most attractive option out there. He is young. He knows the system, which is nothing insignificant considering the condensed offseason, and he has chemistry with Mark Sanchez.
Cornerback I am less certain on. Cromartie is by far the best left for teams in need of a corner. He could easily be looking at Johnathan Joseph money, which feels a bit hefty for a guy so inconsistent. I might prefer the Jets go cheaper at corner and try and upgrade the pass rush to take pressure off whomever starts at corner. Is a Matt Roth/Manny Lawson combo too expensive even with the new cap room from guys reworking their deals? They're both good pass rushers and would compliment each other well. Roth is great against the run. Lawson is great in coverage. It might be worth exploring to see whether there might be a creative solution.
If the Jets do bring back Edwards and Cromartie, it would not be a terrible thing, though. Much of the core of an 11 win team that made the conference title game would be back in business.
What do you think?