"Jerricho Cotchery's seven-year career with the Jets ended in bizarre fashion Thursday. The morning after reports surfaced that free agent wide receiver Derrick Mason was visiting the Jets facility, Cotchery revealed that he likely wouldn't return.

"It's time to move on," Cotchery told The Daily News after the morning walk-through. "If (Mason) passes the physical, he's on the team and I won't be."

On the surface, it appeared as if the Jets preferred the cheaper Mason. Eventually, Rex Ryan confirmed that the team had released Cotchery, but did so only after the veteran requested it. Ryan didn't give particulars about when and why Cotchery made the request to be traded or released. By all appearances, Cotchery's lack of an opportunity to start played a significant role in the parting of the ways.

The Daily News has learned that Cotchery asked for a trade in February before the NFL Scouting Combine, hoping to land on a team that would allow him to start and extend his contract."