BAD NEWS! Darrelle Revis and the Jets had their worst fears come true yesterday when they learned the 27-year-old star cornerback had torn his left ACL during Gang Green’s victory over the Dolphins on Sunday, and will be out for the remainder of the season. (Reuters)
If you walked into Jets headquarters yesterday, you would have found it hard to believe they just won a road game against a division opponent.
Instead of jubilation, there was despair. The Jets received devastating news when the MRI exam of Darrelle Revis’ left knee confirmed their worst fear — a tear of his ACL that will require surgery and end his season.
A despondent Rex Ryan made the announcement at his press conference yesterday, vowing the Jets will find a way to manage without their best player.
“That’s something we’re going to have to overcome as a football team,” the head coach said. “We’re going to lose that presence. With that, I don’t know what else to say about it. I guess that’s the horrible thing that came out of the game.”
The 27-year-old Revis suffered the injury in the third quarter of the Jets’ 23-20 overtime victory over the Dolphins on Sunday. His knee buckled without being hit, leading the Jets to believe he had torn his ACL, but hoping the MRI exam might show something else.
Ryan would not officially rule Revis out for the season, saying he wanted to talk to Revis before the team decided whether to put him on season-ending injured reserve. But Revis will not have surgery on the knee for 2-3 weeks, and the recovery time is typically 6-9 months.
The Jets will turn to Antonio Cromartie to become their No. 1 cornerback, with Kyle Wilson sliding into the other starting spot and Ellis Lankster and Isaiah Trufant moving into the sub-package role. Ryan expressed confidence in the other cornerbacks, but losing Revis is a devastating blow for the 2-1 Jets.
“We’re fortunate because most teams only have one No. 1 corner, or some don’t even have any,” Ryan said. “We have the best in the league in Darrelle, and we also have a No. 1 corner in Cromartie. We drafted Kyle Wilson to basically be a No. 2 corner, and that’s the way he’s going to play that role. I’m confident in Kyle.”
The Jets could explore the trade market for another cornerback or find one in free agency, but the pickings are slim. Former Jets Drew Coleman and Donald Strickland are free agents the team could look at. Cowboys cornerback Mike Jenkins was the last big-name cornerback to be on the trade market. Jenkins, the team’s 2008 first-round pick, is currently the team’s third corner.
“Revis is a game changer,” a league source said. “He affects their sub and third-down packages and also their depth with Wilson now starting. I think Wilson is more of a natural inside player. Lankster and Trufant are really special teams guys. If Lankster has to play, teams will find him.”
The message to the Jets players yesterday was the onus of replacing Revis can’t just be on the cornerbacks. The entire team needs to pick up its play to compensate for Revis’ absence.
“We’re not going to ask Kyle to go out there and be Darrelle,” linebacker Calvin Pace said. “We’re not going to ask Ellis to go out and be Darrelle. A number of people have to step up and try to affect the game the way he did. Obviously, it’s not going to be in the same manner.”
Schematically, the Jets defense will change without Revis. Ryan and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine have said Revis’ ability to shut down the opponent’s top receiver allows them to be aggressive with blitzes. They will have to play more conservatively now.
“Is it a major blow when you lose a great player like Darrelle Revis is? Absolutely it is,” Ryan said. “But this is a football team. I think we showed that [Sunday]. There were plenty of times to get down in that game, but we kept fighting. We kept believing in each other and that’s why we found a way to win. That’s what it’s going to take. It’s going to take everybody we have pulling together like we are and just keep competing and we’ll see what happens at the end of the day.”
It will be interesting to see how the injury affects the contract status of Revis, who nearly held out this year in hopes the Jets would redo the four-year, $46 million deal he signed in 2010. The thought was the contract would get redone before next season to avoid Revis becoming a free agent in 2014. That seems to be in doubt now.