The Jets aren’t exactly on the cusp of a Super Bowl run, but, for some reason, wide receiver Santonio Holmes still wants to return to the team next season.
Holmes, who is set to count $10.75 million against the cap in 2014, would likely be a cap casualty this offseason as the Jets seek to free up some money for free-agent spending. However, the Super Bowl XLIII MVP says he’d do anything in order to stick around, even if that means taking a pay cut.
“Anything for the team,” Holmes said, per the New York Daily News. “Anything for the team.”
Holmes, 29, has dealt with an array of injuries over the past two seasons, missing 17 of the Jets’ 30 games since the start of 2012. He’s also managed just 38 catches and two touchdowns in that span, which hasn’t exactly been the production Rex Ryan and Co. expected when signing him to a five-year, $45 million deal in 2010.
While Holmes definitely doesn’t want to play for the league minimum, he seems to understand that salary is based on production and that he hasn’t exactly earned his big paychecks.
“Probably not,” Holmes said when asked if it mattered how much less he would be making. “I mean, with the production comes big pay, so do your job.”
Holmes’ career with the Jets has largely been a bust. He’s played in just 41 of a possible 62 games, including only one full season (2011), since leaving Pittsburgh after the 2009 season. He’s also never managed more than 52 catches, 746 yards or eight touchdowns in a single season in New York.
Someone will at least give him a chance next season, but, even at a lesser salary, it’s unlikely to be with the Jets, as he’s been cast as both selfish and a locker room cancer in recent seasons.
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