Longtime Colts killer Antonio Cromartie: 'I love the irony'

INDIANAPOLIS — This man required no introduction in these parts.

He was the 23-year-old second-year star who made a name for himself by intercepting Peyton Manning not once, not twice, but three times on that rainy November night in San Diego in 2007. Antonio Cromartie 1, Colts 0.

He was the 26-year-old Pro Bowler who took the game’s final kickoff back 46 yards to set up the Jets’ winning field goal in the 2011 Wild Card round. Manning watched from the sideline, helpless, frustrated, oblivious to the fact that his last game in a Colts’ uniform would end with a loss at home to Mark Sanchez. Cromartie 2, Colts 0.

And he was the 28-year-old veteran who picked off a young Andrew Luck early in his rookie season. The Jets rolled that day, 35-9. Cromartie 3, Colts 0. You get the picture.

If you can’t beat him, sign him. Or whatever’s left of him.

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So the Colts did Monday, inking one of the franchise’s all-time antagonists to a one-year deal to bolster their depleted depth at cornerback. Throw Cromartie in there with the likes of Ty Law, Darren Sproles and Arian Foster, names that stir Colts fans into a shudder. He’s been a perpetual pest for this franchise for 10 years. In seven career games against the Colts, he’s 6-1. And 3-0 in the playoffs.

“I love the irony,” Cromartie said Tuesday, “I love it! They used to call me and Sproles Colts’ killers.”

But Cromartie isn’t 28 anymore. Or 26. Or 23. He’s 32. And until Monday he was an aging cornerback without a team three weeks shy of the regular season. A nagging groin injury, he says, slowed him last fall with the Jets (he finished the season ranked 103rd of 118 cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus). They cut him in February. Plenty wondered if he was done.

“I never thought about retiring,” Cromartie said. “That’s just all the rumors. When I got the call (here), I was like, ‘Sure, let’s go.’”

That call came Sunday, two days after he worked out with the Bears in Chicago. The two sides failed to reach a deal, so Cromartie landed in Indianapolis and worked out for the Colts Monday morning. He signed his contract that evening. He says he’s ready to suit up as early as Saturday’s preseason game against the Eagles.

And for Week 1? He’ll be ready if Vontae Davis is not.

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Cromartie’s transition into the Colts’ starting lineup — whether it’s temporary or long-term — shouldn’t take long. He arrived as familiar with Chuck Pagano’s defense as any free agent could be. Cromartie played for Pagano’s brother, John, in San Diego. And he starred in Rex Ryan’s identical 3-4 scheme in New York.

He’s also an outside cornerback who specializes in press man coverage with 32 career interceptions to his name, good enough for third among all active players. At its most basic level, his job consists of blanketing an opposing wide receiver for 60-plus snaps. Catching him up to speed shouldn’t take long.

“It hasn’t been too hard with the playbook because I already understand that part,” Cromartie said Tuesday.

“He started cramming last night once he got signed and got in the playbook,” Pagano said. “All of the terms, fronts, coverages, pressures, zone-pressures, man-pressures, as he was reading through it he was obviously really excited this morning coming in. The verbiage was damn near the same so I think from a mental standpoint he will be fine, he’ll be a quick study in that regard.”

That’s the good news. The bad news for this team: They’re relying on a 32-year-old cornerback whose best days are behind him. And they don't have another choice.

Call Star reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134 and follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.