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NEW YORK -- Jerricho Cotchery, who had a breakout year with the New York Jets last season, signed a multiyear contract extension with the team Thursday.

Jerricho Cotchery

Wide Receiver New York Jets Profile

2006 SEASON STATISTICS Rec Yds TD Avg Long YAC 82 961 6 11.7 71 373

Cotchery set career highs with 82 catches, 961 yards receiving and six touchdowns while starting every game for the Jets last season.

"This was the perfect time to get something done," he said during a conference call. "I didn't want to try to do anything during the season where you're thinking about tons of things. It allows me to continue to just focus on football."

In his third year out of North Carolina State, the athletic Cotchery combined with Laveranues Coles to form the most productive receiving tandem in team history. The duo combined for 173 catches and 12 touchdowns.

"Jerricho Cotchery is the type of player we are looking for here," general manager Mike Tannenbaum said in a statement. "He earned a starting role this year and showed the productivity and consistency we want at that position."

Terms of the extension were not released by the Jets, and a message left for his agent, Jack Scharf, wasn't immediately returned. The 24-year-old Cotchery would have been eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after next season.

"It was an easy process," Cotchery said. "I wasn't expecting them to come to me a year early, but they did and it was real easy. It was a number that I wanted and it had to be fair for both sides, and it ended up being. I'm thankful we were able to get it done."

Cotchery, drafted in the fourth round in 2004, had 25 receptions in his first two seasons, playing mostly on special teams -- including returning a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown in the 2004 regular-season finale at St. Louis. He impressed new head coach Eric Mangini and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer in training camp last summer, and won the job as the team's No. 2 receiver behind Coles.

"I wanted to stay with the Jets the entire time," Cotchery said. "This is the organization that drafted me and I wanted to be loyal to them. I wanted to finish my career here because I felt like the other teams, if they wanted me when I was coming out for the draft, they would've drafted me. This time around, they won't have a second chance to get me."

Cotchery was involved in the Jets' two longest plays from scrimmage last season -- both against New England. He had a 71-yard touchdown catch-and-run in Week 2, and had a 77-yard touchdown catch in the playoff loss against the Patriots.

"Jerricho Cotchery exemplifies everything we are looking for in our players," Mangini said in a statement. "He is smart, tough, hardworking, selfless, competitive and football is important to him. During training camp, he took advantage of the opportunity to compete and became not only a starter but a key contributor to what the team was able to accomplish in 2006. I am pleased that Jerricho will remain with the Jets for years to come."

The Jets also officially announced that they released running back Derrick Blaylock and defensive lineman Bobby Hamilton.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press