The last thing the Jets wanted is the nightmare scenario that unfolded swiftly Wednesday night, the Great White Shark lurking off the free-agent waters in New England, the bloodthirsty Bill Belichick himself, his unblinking, remorseless eyes set on sinking his jaws into Darrelle Revis.
A reported one-year, $12 million deal.
Darrelle Revis is a Patriot.
One year, $12 million.
Only if Revis had been willing to play ball that way before the Jets were forced to trade him to Tampa Bay a year ago.
It was Belichick himself who walked away from working for owner Woody Johnson 14 years ago, and his forever hatred of all things Jets wasn’t even the biggest reason why he stalked Revis now, only hours after Revis had been released by the Buccaneers.
The biggest reason: with Aqib Talib now in Denver, Belichick needed a shutdown corner more desperately than Revis burned to retain his $16 million-a-year paycheck.
As wise as Johnson and general manager John Idzik were not to pay Revis $16 million a year ago, as wise as they were to send him out of the conference a year ago, the best-laid plans backfire now that the Great White was successful in landing Revis.
It is every bit the equivalent of Curtis Martin bolting the Patriots for the Bill Parcells Jets.
This only could happen to the Jets.
Put it this way: never mind the potential presence of Michael Vick, having to play Revis twice a year won’t exactly help Geno Smith make a case for himself, will it? Even with his new receiver Eric Decker in the fold.
Another year removed from left knee surgery, Revis will have plenty of incentive to reclaim his “Best Cornerback in Football” throne from Richard Sherman, which means he will again be the kind of transcendent player who can singlehandedly stunt a young quarterback’s growth if he dares venture onto Revis Island.
Revis will remind Belichick of Ty Law, his former Super Bowl shutdown corner, and not solely because they both hail from Aliquippa, Pa. Law, like Revis, was a complete player with an indomitable will to win.
More likely than not, past history tells us Revis will have a better chance to win with Belichick and Tom Brady than he would have had with coach Rex Ryan and Geno Smith, Michael Vick or whomever.
Of course, this is the NFL, so you never know for sure, but as long as Brady doesn’t turn old overnight, the Jets, a season removed from rebuilding, will have more work to do to further close the gap.
Brady, suddenly 37 in August, sees the window closing on him, and doesn’t Belichick know it. John Elway means business (Talib, DeMarcus Ware, T.J. Ward), and without Revis, Belichick would have been in dire straits against Peyton Manning.
Revis fits the Belichick profile even better than Randy Moss or Corey Dillon did. He only turn 29 in July, and he has been tough, smart and competitive from the second he stepped into the league.
If Revis truly loved Ryan and loved New York, he should have called Johnson personally to clear the air with the Jets owner and let bygones be bygones and offer the team a homecoming discount, because the Jets weren’t inclined to pay him $16 million a year ago, and they weren’t now. No one was.
Never mind Ryan, his old teammates, the few who are left, would have welcomed him back with open arms. Revis would have filled the leadership vacuum that exists in the locker room. Ryan likely would have named him captain.
Of course the Revis camp made it known that it had inquired about any possible Jets interest, after professing Revis’ boundless love for Ryan, an obligatory leverage ploy undoubtedly designed to attempt to get Belichick to blink and ante up. Belichick always has opted for bargains, and with Talib commanding a tad less than $10 million per, Revis would have been no bargain if he insisted on playing hardball.
Even at this price, Revis is no bargain, and the Jets had too many holes to allocate $12 million to any one player, even this one, knowing that he would be back a year from now armed with a humongous wheelbarrow demanding that it be filled to the brim. Been there, done that. You can’t build a team that way.
As for Revis, he gets to shop himself again next season, an NFL record, and proved the lure of the elusive Super Bowl ring trumped his obsession with the almighty dollar.
Belichick, as of Wednesday night, had in the neighborhood of $18 million in cap space after cutting defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga. It meant he was maneuvering. It meant he was restless. It has been a decade since he won his last Super Bowl. The Great White is hungry, and he is desperate.
Darrelle Revis is a New England Patriot.
Read it and weep, Jets Nation.