The New York Jets needed improvement in all areas of the roster after another disappointing year in 2014. In an attempt to make some upgrades, they brought back some familiar faces to build the team back up. At the start of the offseason, the Jets brought back two fan favorites in Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie. While Revis is thriving back with New York, Cromartie is seeing a lot of struggles.
Early reports on Cromartie have not been positive. While Revis is the undisputed top cornerback for the team, Cromartie is expected to be his right-hand man, something that is not happening so far in practice. According to Kevin Armstrong of the New York Daily News, Cromartie continues to be beat by receivers in practice, mainly Eric Decker who is having his way with the secondary so far this year. Cromartie denied it being an issue to worry about.
"I'm not really worried about anything that's going on right now," Cromartie said, via the Daily News. "I'm looking forward to when those lights turn on and you go play football from there. This is really not even training camp. I don't know what it is. I'm used to having two-a-days. Two-a-days was fun. It weaned out the guys that was not mentally strong."
The Jets need Cromartie to be a star for the team. Former first-round draft pick Dee Milliner is out with injury and will miss the start of the season. He was expected to be a potential roster cut this preseason, but with Cromartie not performing up to standards, Milliner's spot could be safe for the time being. A lot of the Jets success rests on the dominance of both Cromartie and Revis.
The same can be said for Muhammad Wilkerson who has yet to make his training camp debut. Wilkerson spent most of the offseason campaigning for a contract extension and then promptly got injured at the start of camp. According to the New York Post, the defensive end suffered a setback with his hamstring injury and could miss more time than previously thought. Head coach Todd Bowles remains hopeful that Wilkerson will be back on the field sooner rather than later.
"I've seen progress," Bowles said, via the New York Post. "He still has some work to do. Initially, a tweak to me means you're out a day or two and you come back, but obviously it's been bothering him longer than that. He's getting the necessary help and he's getting better."
With Wilkerson out and Sheldon Richardson working with the reserves due to his pending suspension at the start of the year, the pressure is on Leonard Williams to perform as a rookie. Williams is getting all of the first-team reps this preseason and will be needed to step up immediately once the season begins.
