"Continuing to remake their secondary, the Jets made another big trade, dealing safety Kerry Rhodes to the Cardinals Saturday night for two draft picks - a fourth-round choice in the upcoming draft and a seventh-rounder in 2011.

The trade came two days after they acquired former Pro Bowl cornerback Antonio Cromartie from the Chargers, and one day after GM Mike Tannenbaum said he expected Rhodes to remain on the team "unless something happens."

Ostensibly, something happened Friday night, when the Cards lost free-agent safety Antrel Rolle to the Giants. In reality, the Jets decided long ago to deal Rhodes, who fell out of favor with the coaching staff.

Rhodes, nicknamed "Hollywood" by his teammates, clashed with defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and was demoted late in the season because of what the coaches felt was a lack of commitment. That he made no big plays in the first 10 games also contributed to his reduced role, which he described as "tough on the psyche."

He regained his starting job, improved during the stretch run and announced via his Twitter account that he had had a "productive" lunch meeting recently with Pettine. But one team source refuted that version last week, claiming the staff still was down on Rhodes, a borderline Pro Bowl player in 2007."