Jets could lose both Holmes & Cromartie

When free agency begins next week after the new CBA is ratified by the players union and owners, the Jets could come up snake eyes when it comes to re-signing their most important players.

Reports have surfaced this week that the Washington Redskins are hot on the trail of Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes.

Redskins owner Dan Snyder is no stranger to nabbing ex-Jets, he did so successfully with Lavernous Coles, John Hall, and Santana Moss over the years, and now it appears he is ready to make Holmes one of the games top paid players during this blitzkrieg off-season.

Snyder loves to throw money around, even if the results blow up in his face. With the salary cap around $123 million for 2011, Snyder will have the cap room to make big moves this season, especially if the Skins let go of malcontent defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.

Meanwhile, Antonio Cromartie said that he will not sign with the Jets, when he is given 72 hours to sign with them in a "take-it-or-leave-it" negotiation.

Cromartie told Sirius XM radio on Tuesday that he plans on hitting the free agent market with an open mind, and has listed the Cowboys, Raiders, Texans and Buccaneers as teams he's interested in playing for.

So much for the powers of Rex Ryan.

Lockout or no lockout, this year's free agent class was going to be huge for Gang Green. They put all of their eggs into one basket last season, and they came up short, now it appears they won't be able to keep these top talents on the roster anymore.

On the bright side, with 500 pending free agents the Jets will have plenty of players to pick from, so who knows, they could look bad if they stand to lose their players, but come up roses later in free agency.