FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Antonio Cromartie, never one to mince words, bashed the Tebow bashers.

"To me, it's stupidity," the veteran cornerback said Thursday, alluding to the unnamed teammates who criticized backup QB Tim Tebow in a published report. "The guy is a good teammate. He's done everything we've asked him to do. You can't say too much about him because he's a team player.

"You can't sit here and say, 'That guy's been terrible,'" Cromartie continued. "I don't understand why you would say that. What you see from him in practice, he's getting better. ... You can't sit here and bad mouth a teammate because, at the end of the day, that affects everyone in the locker room, especially that guy there."

Cromartie hasn't been criticial of Tebow, but he gave an emphatic defense of starter Mark Sanchez after Sunday's loss to the Seahawks. When asked to comment on those clamoring for Sanchez to be benched, Cromartie said, "They can kiss my ass."

Cromartie refuted LaDainian Tomlinson's contention that he was one of the players who ripped Tebow anonymously. Tomlinson, who played with Cromartie on the Chargers and Jets, made his comment Wednesday on SiriusXM Radio.

"I heard it, but I have no response for a retired player," Cromartie said. "Y'all know me. If I say something, I put my name on everything I say. I really don't care if I hurt somebody's feelings. That's not me. For me to sit here and talk about a teammate, nah. If I'm going to talk about a teammate, I'm going to tell him in person. I'm not going to go to the media and say I'm an anonymous-type person. I'm not that kind of cowardly person."