Jets’ Robert Saleh, Jamison Crowder share excitement over WR’s return

Jamison Crowder and the Jets have finalized a renegotiated contract and the veteran receiver is back with the team.

The Jets have returned one of their veteran receivers.

The organization and wideout Jamison Crowder finalized a renegotiated contract earlier this week — he didn’t attend OTA practices prior to Tuesday’s commencement of mandatory minicamp.

It’s unclear what Crowder’s true role will be given the number of talented bodies now present in the Jets receiver room. Regardless, head coach Robert Saleh is intrigued by Jamison’s return.

“I’m really excited. I think he’s going to be fantastic in the system,” Saleh told ESPN’s Rich Cimini Tuesday. “I’ll give him the opportunity to showcase what he’s done his entire career, and that’s make plays. Really excited to have him here, excited to get him in the fold, and excited to work with him. We’re really fortunate.”

What was difficult in regard to the contract situation is that the organization wished for Crowder to take a pay cut in 2021, the final year of his current three-year deal. This came after Crowder was the Jets’ most productive receiver each of the last two seasons, having topped the roster in receptions, yards, and touchdowns in either year

Frustration and a loss of morale would be normal in plenty of circumstances such as this one, but that’s seemingly not the way Crowder is approaching the 2021 campaign.

“Jamison’s a pro. We had a really good conversation last week, heading into the weekend. He’s a pro,” Saleh said to Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media. “He’s had a lot of success in this league and he’s still young, he’s 28 years old, I believe. He’s going to have success here. I don’t get into the contract stuff with players, that’s not my role. I do believe in Jamison, if he performs the way we all think he will, what happens this year is not even going to worry him. We’re excited to have him, we’re excited to plug him in, we’re excited to see where this thing goes.”

When a team initially approaches you about a possible pay cut, many players would likely be caught off guard, and reasonably so. It’s obviously never fantastic hearing you could be making less money, regardless of your role, profession, or financial situation. This is especially the case when you previously produced the way Crowder was able to in both 2019 and 2020.

But Saleh’s correct — “Jamison’s a pro,” and thus handled it with grace.

“I didn’t really have much of a reaction, I understand it’s a business,” Crowder told the media following Tuesday’s practice. “We kind of just went from there and were trying to sort things out the last few weeks.”

“I’m just ready to get out there and try to get a connection with the quarterback and do what I can to help out the offense,” he later added.