PARTING SHOT: Darrelle Revis is all smiles as he sits with Bucs GM Mark Dominik (left) and coach Greg Schiano at his introductory press conference. But later he said Jets GM John Idzik lied to him and owner Woody Johnson never talked with him. Post columnist Mark Cannizzaro writes the Revis saga didn’t have to end in such an ugly fashion. (
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TAMPA — The conversation took place last Wednesday.
Darrelle Revis was at the Jets’ Florham Park, N.J., facility rehabbing his surgically repaired left knee when he bumped into new Jets general manager John Idzik.
This is how Revis recalled the conversation:
“Do you want to be a Jet?’’ Idzik asked.
“Why would you ask me that question?’’ Revis responded, adding he made it clear to Idzik he wanted to remain a Jet.
That is when, Revis told New York reporters yesterday shortly after he was introduced in a Tampa press conference as the newest member of the Buccaneers, Idzik assured him he wasn’t going anywhere.
Four days after that conversation, Idzik traded Revis to Tampa Bay for the Buccaneers’ 13th overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft, which begins Thursday, and a conditional 2014 fourth-rounder that could become a third-rounder.
So minutes after Revis smiled for the cameras and answered questions from Tampa-area reporters he was sitting in a quiet hallway with three familiar New York faces and he painted a picture of lies and deception he believes he was subjected to from the franchise he hoped to play the rest of his career with.
“I definitely feel like I haven’t gotten the truth [from the Jets],’’ Revis said. “Anyone can sit there and tell you to your face, ‘Yeah, you’re going to be a Jet.’ But what’s the truth out of it? It was more from Idzik. He told me I was going to be a Jet. He said it then when we first talked and he said it last week, too. I know it’s a lie.
“They give you the corporate answer instead of the truth,’’ he went on. “Just tell the truth, because people want to know what’s going on. I want to know what’s going on with my career, whether you’re going to trade me or you’re not. Whatever you’re doing, just let me know.
“I just don’t get that part of not telling me what you’re going to do with me when I come to you and ask questions and say, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ ’’
Sure, Revis and his agents, who had a contentious relationship with Jets management over the years, could be a pain in the Jets’ butt with the holdouts and constant desire for a better contract.
But even if the Jets didn’t believe he was worth the $16 million a year he desired (and got from the Bucs), Revis, always a gamer on the field and never a problem off of it, was owed the truth. That would not have cost Idzik and the Jets a dime.
Revis, who dodged questions about his recovery from a torn ACL though the Bucs made it clear they expect him ready for their opener against the Jets at MetLife Stadium, said he felt deceived since the moment Idzik was hired and the rumors of the Jets’ desire to trade him began to surface.
“I wake up one day in January going to rehab and I hear I’m getting traded and nobody even called me,’’ he said. “I’m supposed to be the best player on the team and all of a sudden they’re letting me go.’’
Asked if he has spoken to team owner Woody Johnson, who it has been widely reported had no intention of paying Revis the big money he was seeking, Revis said, “Noooo. Woody don’t want to talk to me, man. Let’s just be real, man. Woody don’t want to talk to me. He stayed as far away as he could.’’
Revis also insisted the Jets never made any effort to sign him to a new long-term contract to keep him, even indicating that he would have been willing to take the same non-guaranteed deal he signed with Tampa Bay.
“The Jets never contacted my agents about a long-term deal or even a short-term deal,’’ he said. “They never even approached us, so that’s that. The truth is the truth.’’
That the Jets never made an effort to negotiate with Revis’ agents is as preposterous as it is bad business. At least make an effort to keep your best player — even if you know it’s likely futile. Idzik did not return calls to comment on Revis’ claims.
“It’s over now,’’ Revis said. “They knew I wanted to be there and obviously I’m somewhere different. This is a new chapter in my life. This is my new home, man. I’m in Tampa now. I’m a Buccaneer.’’
Revis was willing to look at what he left behind, including his biggest supporter in Rex Ryan.
“As a friend, yeah, I feel for Rex,” he said. “Rex played a big part in my career, and yeah I feel for him. I feel for him — not just because of my situation, but a lot of the things that have happened in the offseason. It’s a whole new team up there.”
There was a hint of melancholy to Revis’ voice, because he wanted to remain in New York.
But there he was yesterday, dressed in a grey suit with a shiny Tampa Bay Buccaneers pin attached to the left lapel of his jacket, sitting in front of a bright red and pewter banner.
It just didn’t look right. So much for being “a Jet for life.’’
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com