Tensions between the Jets and star cornerback Darrelle Revis are escalating, and it is becoming less and less likely he will remain with the team.
Even though the Jets are trying to trade Revis, general manager John Idzik is forcing Revis to report for voluntary workouts next week by enforcing a clause in his contract, according to sources.
Revis has $3 million in bonuses tied up to his offseason participation, according to sources. He is required to participate in about 80 percent of the team’s offseason program to achieve a $1 million workout bonus, but sources said that is also tied to a $1 million reporting bonus in July and a $1 million roster bonus already triggered in March but not paid until later in the year. If Revis does not report to the offseason program and training camp in a timely manner, he will never see any of the money, even the roster bonus from March.
Revis is in Arizona, where he has been rehabbing his surgically repaired left knee. He planned on returning to New Jersey on April 15 to meet with Jets doctors and then return to Arizona to avoid being a distraction as trade talks swirl, according to a source. Now, he will report to avoid losing the money, but he is not happy about it.
The Jets declined comment.
The bonus clauses were put in Revis’ 2010 contract as a way for the team to guarantee he would not hold out after doing so twice previously. But now he is injured, and if he fails to show next week it would not be because he is seeking a new contract, but because he is trying to avoid an uncomfortable situation as the Jets try to deal him.
The Jets have been in discussions to trade Revis for two months. The Buccaneers are the most serious suitors, according to sources. A trade could take place in the days leading up to the NFL Draft on April 25. Any deal would most likely need to be completed prior to the draft so the team trading for Revis could examine his left ACL, which he tore in the third game of last season.
It seems highly unlikely Revis, scheduled to become a free agent after this season, will return to the Jets. Team owner Woody Johnson is unwilling to sign Revis to a long-term extension, according to sources, and the Jets are in the middle of a rebuilding process.
Idzik, who replaced Mike Tannenbaum in January, has spent very little money this offseason, signing budget free agents and letting nearly every one of the team’s own free agents walk.
Idzik is not saying why he wants Revis to report next week, but it could be the team wants its own medical staff to oversee Revis’ rehab and it also may be an attempt to maintain the appearance the team is willing to hold on to Revis as it tries to get a deal done with the Bucs.
That the Jets would choose to employ hardball tactics with Revis is curious, considering how valuable he has been on the field and the fact he has always been a model citizen off of it.
The Jets allowed LaRon Landry to skip most of the offseason program last spring as he rehabbed a foot injury in Arizona.
The Jets roster is already depleted, and it appears the team is getting close to dumping its best player and decimating it further.
* Free agent guard Stephen Peterman will visit the Jets today, according to a source. Peterman spent the seven seasons with the Lions.