Back in the Fold, New York Jets’ Santonio Holmes Poised for a Big 2013 in Jets’ New Offense

Santonio Holmes New York Jets — Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

Hours before the official start of the new NFL league year, the New York Jets came to an agreement with top wideout Santonio Holmes, restructuring his contract to bring him back into the fold for the 2013 season.

Holmes originally signed a five-year, $45 million deal with the Jets prior to the 2011 season, and he was due to make a base salary of $11 million with a $12.5 million cap hit in 2013, prior to restructuring his deal.

Instead, the Jets reduced his base salary to $7.5 million for 2013, helping the Jets free up about $3.5 million in cap space.

The 2012 season was full of tough luck for Holmes. He got off to a pretty good start to the year, before he suffered a brutal injury to his foot in late September that ended his season prematurely.

A Lisfranc fracture, which Holmes suffered, is an extremely painful break of the middle of the foot. For Holmes, it required season-ending surgery and a long rehabilitation that he’s still slowly, but surely, recovering from.

Holmes is hoping to start running again in April, and if everything goes according to plan, he should be ready to return in time for the regular season, where he’ll have a chance to prove that he’s still a very good player.

The Jets hired Marty Mornhinweg as their new offensive coordinator this offseason, and a healthy Santonio Holmes would be an excellent fit in Mornhinweg’s version of the West Coast offense that the Jets will run in 2013.

Holmes is a very good route-runner, which is a skill set that’s crucial for success in Mornhinweg’s system. If he’s feeling 100% by the start of the season, it could be a big year for the 29-year-old wide receiver.

There’s no indication yet of who will be throwing him the ball come September, but Holmes will be a terrific target for whoever ends up as the Jets starting quarterback in 2013. The Jets are certainly glad to have him around.