Jets Send Kerry Rhodes to Arizona for Draft Picks

NFL News - March 7th, 2010 - Written by John Ritter

The New York Jets have decided to part ways with starting safety Kerry Rhodes, and send him to the Arizona Cardinals for a fourth-round selection in this year's draft, and a seventh-round selection next year.

The Cardinals were in need of a safety after Antrel Rolle signed a deal with the New York Giants in free agency. Rhodes is slated to start beside Adrian Wilson, which builds Arizona's secondary.

"He fits a lot of the things that we do defensively," remarked Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt, "and the prospect of having him alongside a perennial All-Pro like Adrian Wilson is very exciting."

The deal comes as a mild surprise, as Mike Tannenbaum, general manager of the Jets, said earlier this week that he fully anticipated Rhodes to be active in off-season workouts and further "unless something changes."

Rhodes still had four years remaining on his deal, and was slated to receive a $2 million roster bonus.

Last season, The Jets has high hopes for Rhodes, but the safety underachieved, and at one point lost his role as a starter.

After losing wide receiver Anquan Boldin and Rolle this past week, Arizona believes that Rhodes is the first step to filling voids in key positions.

"We all know that the safety position was a hole we needed to fill," Whisenhunt remarked. "To be able to do that so quickly and with a proven starter off the NFL's No. 1 defense is a tremendous positive for our football team. Kerry has the experience and ability to step in right away."

Jets head coach Rex Ryan had compared Rhodes to Baltimore Safety Ed Reed. Ryan coached Reed for seven seasons in Baltimore and helped develop him into the All-Pro he is today. Ryan was hoping to have the same success with Rhodes, but it failed to pan out.

Rhodes started every game in his career up until a November 29th meeting against the Giants. He returned however two weeks later against Tampa Bay.

Rhodes disclosed his frustrations, but also tried to learn from his experiences.

"To be honest, I really do want to be here," Rhodes remarked in an interview back in January. "This is New York. This is the team that gave me my first shot. They gave me the big contract. I'm letting the fans know I do want to be here to end my career as a Jet, but sometimes circumstances happen."

NFL Betting Lines are fielding wagers on each team's odds to win Super Bowl XLV for the upcoming 2010-11 NFL Season. Arizona has been established as a +3500 favorite to capture to the title.