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JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is nearing the end of his sixth year in the NFL, and at 27 years old, he's arguably in the prime of his football career. Plus, after two forgetable seasons with the Eagles, he's reestablished himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the league in his first year with the Broncos.
It might turn out to be his only season in Denver.
Rodgers-Cromartie said Monday that he's considering retiring after the Super Bowl if the Broncos beat the Seahawks. He said his goal was to play five years in the NFL. He's played six, and that might be enough for him.
"After the first contract [a five-year, $15.1 million deal with the Cardinals in 2008], I got a one-year deal, and it's hard to get another [big-money] deal," Rodgers-Cromartie said. "Just from being around, I've seen a lot of guys get to the point I am right now, and it's hard. You have to start thinking about life after football."
Rodgers-Cromartie was expected to play an important role in Philadelphia's secondary three years ago after he was traded from Arizona to the Eagles in the Kevin Kolb deal. Rodgers-Cromartie was expected to combine with Nnamdi Asomugha and Asante Samuel to form what could have been the best defensive back tandem in the league.
But the results were disastrous, and he left Philadelphia after the 2012 season to sign a one-year deal worth $5 million with the Broncos. He said Monday that the one-year deal was his decision, because he wasn't sure how much longer he wanted to keep playing and that he'd been pondering retirement for "quite a while."
Rodgers-Cromartie has been doing that more lately, saying he was thinking about going into a role as a high school guidance counselor. He said he wasn't sure if the Broncos front office would try to convince him to continue playing, but he also said that his retirement plans weren't "set in stone."
That's most likely especially true if the Seahawks triumph against Denver on Sunday.
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