Holmes remains on roster; will receive over $15M
As expected, the Jets did not release wide receiver Santonio Holmes, which means he now is owed a guaranteed $15.25 million by the Jets. His 2012 salary already included a guaranteed $7.75 million, which made it quite unlikely the cost-conscious Jets would let him go. And now he has earned a roster bonus of an extra $7.5 million for still being with the Jets, making it a total of $15.25 million guaranteed.
None of this is surprising, given the Jets' and owner Woody Johnson's reluctance to eat contracts. (Look how long it took them to part ways with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and underachieving linebacker/defensive end Vernon Gholston.) Plus, coach Rex Ryan has been coddling Holmes in the media since the Miami debacle when Schottenheimer benched him for pouting.
--OK, so Rex Ryan's Super Bowl boasts again didn't come true. But he was in Indianapolis the first week of February, albeit for some promotional appearances.
ESPNNewYork.com quoted him as saying he expects Holmes and quarterback Mark Sanchez to meet face-to-face soon to try to iron out their differences. Holmes was benched in the fourth quarter of the season finale and in the days leading up to that game, refused to take part in extra meetings organized by Sanchez.
"I think they're actually going to get together," Ryan said. "Look, we were all disappointed at the way the season went. That's one thing we have in common. We also have a burning desire to win, to right the ship. The previous season, they had great chemistry. There's enough common ground to bring them back."
--The Jets re-signed restricted free agent wide receiver Patrick Turner to a one-year, $615,000 deal, according to NFL Players Association records. Turner, 24, who has played parts of two seasons with the Jets, had eight receptions for 96 yards and one touchdown last season.
Turner's first NFL touchdown was the final one of the 2011 season for the Jets, on their last offensive possession at Miami. He was in the game because Santonio Holmes had been benched.
--The felony assault trial for nose tackle Kenrick Ellis, the Jets' 2011 third-round pick, has been pushed back to May 22-23 in Virginia, according to court records. The charges stem from an incident in April 2010 when Ellis was attending Hampton University. Ellis played sparingly for the Jets last season, appearing in only five games.
--Curtis Martin didn't play organized football until his senior year in high school in his hometown of Pittsburgh.
His NFL career certainly made up for lost time.
Martin, the former Jets' running back who is fourth on the NFL career list in rushing with 14,101 yards, was one of six players voted Feb. 4 into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Martin played for the Jets from 1998-2005 after spending his first three NFL seasons with New England. He led the NFL in rushing in 2004 and topped the 1,000-yard mark in each of his first 10 seasons in the NFL before an injury-plagued 2005. A knee injury suffered that season eventually forced him to retire.
Martin made the Hall in his second year of eligibility.
"It's a tremendous day and a humbling thing to be considered for the Hall of Fame," Martin said on a conference call after finding out he had made it. "I will say that it almost caught me off guard. When the show (on the NFL Network) first started and I turned it on, I tweeted that I felt like I was watching a scary movie.
"I feel tremendously grateful for all the players I've ever played with," he added.
There was a little bittersweet tinge to it, however, in that his first NFL coach, Bill Parcells, didn't make it. Martin, who has championed his mentor's candidacy more than his own, was disappointed about that, calling it "somewhat bittersweet." He reiterated something he said before, that he would gladly wait to get in if it meant Parcells would get in this year. Martin said Parcells said he felt the same way about Martin.
"Parcells has meant everything to my career," Martin said. "There's God and then there's Parcells, as far as the meaning they've had on my career. I'm very grateful that Parcells is just the person who walked me through this entire process. I feel even the years he wasn't my coach, what he left somewhat embedded in my character was different ways of how to be a man and how to be a professional. I know there were many players that didn't take to his style, but for me, he was almost like a father figure. It didn't seem as though there was a lot of love between us during our careers, but as soon as it was over, he and I became even closer. I can't say enough words about the man. I'm so grateful that he's passed through my life and is still in my life."
Martin also said he would like Parcells to present him at the induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio, in August.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"I became a football player to be a role model." -- Former Jets RB Curtis Martin, who has been voted into the Hall of Fame.
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