It’s Time for the Jets to Say Goodbye to Santonio Holmes

It's time for this Jet to fly out of town. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The offseason is in full swing. Free agency has begun with the small piece-meal moves the Jets have made so far. The trade, we don’t have to talk about because it has been beaten to death. And now, the biggest grump of them all has broken their silence, Santonio Holmes. Will highlight throughout, but for full coverage of his comments, read my piece from yesterday here.

First, let’s take a look at the background on this guy before he came to the Jets. He was the MVP of the Super Bowl against the Arizona Cardinals, with admittedly a brilliant catch. For a look back, take a look at the replay here:

A great catch, right? Sure was, and on the biggest stage possible. You would think, the Steelers would reward this guy and keep him, despite his 4 game suspension the following season. Did they? No. They traded him to the Jets for a fifth round draft pick.

It makes you wonder, at least it made me wonder, why the Steelers would trade a Super Bowl MVP for a fifth round draft pick.

So he comes to the Jets in 2010, and from what we saw on “Hard Knocks”, the coaching staff was as giddy as kids on Christmas to have this guy. And he did play well, catching 52 passes for 746 yards and 6 TDs in only 12 games in 2010. He had some drops, but nobody was a better asset to Mark Sanchez in the clutch in 2010.

The Jets rewarded Santonio Holmes handsomely in 2011 with a $50 million contract, and “captain” status. Coach Ryan made the captain decision, which at the time was odd because normally players vote on the captains. But good old Rex, he will always do it his own way.

How did that work out? I think we know that answer.

2011 for Santonio Holmes could be renamed “the year of the grump”. The Jets brought in Plaxico Burress, which on it’s face was a good move, to assist in the red zone. But, when you look further, trouble was coming. Burress, also a Super Bowl MVP, is know to have a temper when he doesn’t receive the ball. The possibility of not having enough footballs to go around was a realistic possibility.

One that became a reality.

Playing a full 16 games, Santonio Holmes hit career lows in receptions with 51 and yardage with 654. He did record 8 TDs, but is prescence was clearly less significant than the previous year.

And Santonio let us hear about it.

Santonio Holmes had issues all season, fighting with players in the media and privately. He took issue with the playcalling, and there were conflicting reports as to whether he and others went to Rex Ryan to complain about it. It all came to a head in the final week of 2011, where Santonio’s complaining on the field, so strong that he had to be separated from other players, caused him to be taken out of the game on the game’s final drive.

In comes 2011.

Santonio had been mysteriously, and enjoyably by the way, quiet, working out in Florida. But, in the wake of the Tim Tebow trade, we hear from our wonderful wide receiver. In true Keyshawn Johnson fashion, he said how he doesn’t care who the quarterback is as long as he gets the ball. Haven’t we been here before?

He goes on to say that he wants Sanchez to be successful, but success means that he will take chances in getting him the ball, the way Big Ben used to in Pittsburgh, and that if the QB is having problems, he will be chanting for Tim Tebow just like everybody else.

So, he wants the ball, and if he doesn’t get it, he will complain. Haven’t we been HERE before?

This doesn’t work, and it has to stop. It has to stop now. The locker room is divided, we all know that. With this trade, it became even more divided. Santonio Holmes is clearly unchanged, and his attitude will ruin whatever is left with this football team.

He needs to go.

Some will say, “They can’t let him go, he makes too much money.” To that I say, I don’t even care anymore. If he is already counting against the salary cap, they already don’t have the money. It’s not like if they keep him, they have the money available, and if they let him go, they don’t. They don’t have the money either way, so why not take the hit on the money, but improve the locker room?

Finally, how did this end when it happened with Keyshawn Johnson? He was traded. How did Holmes’ time in Pittsburgh end? He was traded.

Can history repeat itself? That would be great. Either way he needs to go.

Now.

Jets fans, sound off below on Santonio Holmes.