Cromartie called the interception the best play of his short career. He is the first player to intercept Peyton Manning three times in one game during the regular season, and earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in the game. On November 24, Cromartie became the starting cornerback, replacing Drayton Florence (who became a free agent at the end of the season). In the AFC Divisional game against the Colts, Cromartie recorded another interception against Peyton Manning, and his defensive efforts during the game (including a forced fumble against Marvin Harrison) helped the Chargers knock off the defending champion Colts. On December 16, Cromartie set a franchise record by recording his 10th interception of the season, breaking the previous record of 9 interceptions set by Charlie McNeil in 1961. His 10 interceptions led the NFL for number of interceptions in 2007. In addition, Cromartie had 2 post season interceptions. Cromartie was one of three cornerbacks selected to the 2007 AFC Pro Bowl team, his first selection. At the Pro Bowl, Cromartie intercepted two passes. Cromartie was not as successful in 2008, his third season. After stating before the season began that he'd like to break the all-time interception record in a season (14), he managed only 2 interceptions for the season. At the end of the season, Cromartie announced that he played the entire season with a broken hip. The injury was sustained in the first week of the season against the Carolina Panthers. He finished the 2009 regular season with 3 interceptions, 33 tackles, and 10 passes defended. Cromartie was traded to the New York Jets on March 4, 2010 for a third-round draft pick in the 2011 NFL Draft that turned into a second-round pick based on Cromartie's performance. In his first regular season game with the Jets, Cromartie intercepted an errant throw from Joe Flacco which he returned 66 yards. Cromartie performed well, but he was inconsistent throughout the season. He finished the regular season with 3 interceptions and broke up 18 passes, but he gave up 7 touchdowns. His kickoff return in the wild card round against the Indianapolis Colts helped to set up Nick Folk's game-winning field goal. The Jets re-signed Cromartie to a four-year, $32 million contract on August 1, 2011. In the home opener against the Dallas Cowboys on September 11, Cromartie gave up two touchdowns to Dez Bryant and Miles Austin but rebounded the following week intercepting two passes by Luke McCown.