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New Jets general manager John Idzik has not even been on the job for a week and he already has a crisis on his hands.
On the day of his introductory press conference, Idzik spent time answering questions about the future of star cornerback Darrelle Revis after reports surfaced owner Woody Johnson is open to trading him.
Those rumors are not sitting well with Revis, who is rehabbing his surgically repaired knee in Arizona. He took to Twitter to voice his displeasure, saying he was “speechless” about the rumors but “more upset for the jet nation for having to go through this!!!” Revis later tweeted: “I guess we’ll see how this plays out.” Revis has said repeatedly he wants to remain a Jet for his entire career.
Instead of quashing the rumors, the Jets just fanned the flames yesterday. Idzik, Johnson and coach Rex Ryan refused to say there was no truth to the reports. They all danced around the issue, saying it was too soon to discuss what they will do with Revis.
“I think it’s way premature to say anything specific,” Idzik said.
Revis is by far the best player on the Jets’ roster and maybe the best cornerback in football. The Jets signed him to a “Band-Aid” deal in 2010 after a lengthy holdout. The thought had been the Jets would redo his deal this offseason to avoid him becoming a free agent next year. But Revis tore the ACL in his left knee in September and GM Mike Tannenbaum was fired, complicating the situation.
The Jets don’t seem to have any simple solution.
Revis is scheduled to make $6 million next season and the team cannot use the franchise tag on him. That leaves the Jets with the options of either signing him to a high-priced extension, trading him or letting him walk as a free agent next winter. It is hard to imagine the Jets dealing Revis because of the PR blow they will take. He is the team’s best homegrown player since Joe Namath and a possible Hall of Famer. They also will take significant salary cap hit if they trade him.
The Jets could wait for Revis to play a few games this fall and show he’s 100 percent healthy after his knee surgery before trading him in-season. But by then, the Jets would have paid him $3 million in bonus money. To avoid paying him anything, they would have to deal him by mid-March.
Johnson said he did not know where the Revis report came from, but never denied it.
“First of all we don’t discuss contracts,” Johnson said. “Second of all, you’ve got to give John a chance to do what he talked about. He’s got to go through and evaluate what he has and how that plays into what he and Rex talked about in terms of the strategy for the future.”
Ryan said he found it funny this story was hitting on Idzik’s first day in Florham Park. But even the coach, who at times has been Revis’ biggest cheerleader, held back from saying he thinks Revis will remain a Jet.
“To say anything, he’s here, he’s not here all that type of stuff, way too premature for that,” Ryan said. “Let’s give [Idzik] an opportunity to get with everybody and to go over our personnel and all that. You guys know how I feel about Darrelle, but again as John mentioned the decisions are going to be … all decisions are going to be made in the best interest of our football team and trying to attain the goals he talked about.”