The Daily News has learned that the Jets and the Darrelle Revis camp discussed the possibility of a reunion before the All-Pro cornerback inked a deal with the Patriots.
Revis was officially released by the Buccaneers Wednesday afternoon, jolting the free agent landscape.
It’s unknown whether the communication between the Jets and Revis will ultimately lead to a reconciliation, according to sources, but Rex Ryan’s defense is in desperate need of an established cornerback after releasing veteran Antonio Cromartie earlier this week.
Revis, obviously, fits that description.
Tampa Bay cut Revis after unsuccessful attempts to trade the five-time Pro Bowler. The organization cleaned house in the offseason by firing general manager Mark Dominik and head coach Greg Schiano, the driving forces behind the Revis trade last offseason, after a 4-12 season.
Revis, the league’s best man-to-man shutdown corner before his ACL injury two years ago, may not have been an ideal fit in new head coach Lovie Smith’s zone-based defensive scheme, but his hefty contract was the biggest factor for the move.
“It came close a couple different times,” new Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht told the NFL Network on Wednesday about nearly pulling off a trade. “But at the end of day, teams didn’t feel comfortable with it.”
Revis, scheduled to make $16 million in 2014, wasn’t interested in restructuring his contract. He has five years remaining at $80 million, but the structure is essentially a series of one-year, $16 million deals with no guaranteed money. Tampa Bay didn’t incur a salary cap hit by parting ways with the perennial Pro Bowler.
“It was a tough decision,” Licht said. “He’s a very good player… We tried to make things work, but at the end of the day, we want to look forward, not back.”
There are expected to be no shortage of suitors for Revis. The Patriots, who lost top corner Aqib Talib to the Broncos this week, may be the most intriguing option. One member of the Revis camp seemed convinced Wednesday afternoon that the cornerback would ultimately wind up in Foxborough with Bill Belichick.
“It’s going to happen,” the person predicted to the Daily News.
Nothing, of course, is a sure thing.
There are still plenty of hurdles that must be cleared before Revis makes his choice. The Browns, coached by Revis’ former defensive coordinator with the Jets, Mike Pettine, is another possibility.
Revis made it clear last year that he never wanted to leave the Jets, but a contractual impasse prompted the team to trade him to the Buccaneers for a first-round pick and conditional fourth-round pick. The Jets would have received an upgrade from Tampa’s fourth to third-round selection in this year’s draft if he remained on the Bucs’ roster on the third day of the new league year.
The Jets used Tampa’s first-round pick (No. 13 overall) last year on defensive rookie of the year Sheldon Richardson. However, the general manager John Idzik & Co. could have kept Revis and still drafted Richardson with their earlier first-round pick (No. 9) that they used on cornerback Dee Milliner.
It’s unclear how much money Revis, whose current annual salary is about $5 million more than the rest of the players at his position, would be willing to play for moving forward.
Revis has told friends that he would like to return to play for Ryan. It’s believed that the head coach that built his defense around Revis for years shares the same feeling. However, it’s uncertain whether Jets management and ownership would be amenable to bringing back Revis after their rocky relationship in the past.
Revis, who returned to the Pro Bowl in his first season after suffering a torn ACL, would solidify an erratic Jets secondary.
It would also make plenty of people at One Jets Drive happy.
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