Cornerback Darrelle Revis might be the best player the New York Jets have, but it still doesn’t mean that they’re anywhere nearer deciding what to do with him going into the 2013 season, his final on his current contract, and whether to trade him to one of the many teams that are interested, or keep him on the team with a big contract.
Revis isn’t hiding the fact that he wants to be paid like one of the best players in the NFL, not just in his position. After four years on a frontloaded $46 million deal, Revis is looking to be paid like a quarterback, and is seeking for something around the $16 million a season to start with, which means trading for him or keeping him on isn’t going to come cheap.
For a team looking to improve their cap situation, giving Revis the kind of contract he wants, making him the highest paid defensive player in the NFL, is hard to comprehend, but the Jets might eventually turn to that direction. They can’t franchise him due to a clause in his current contract, but on the other hand, he’s recovering from a torn ACL. Cornerbacks are almost never the same when they come back from that kind of injury, regardless of how good they were before or their age – Revis is 27 and was probably the best corner in the NFL in 2011.
Still, the Jets held plenty of talks during the combine regarding the potential trade of Revis. Teams that want him know they’re going to take a serious cap hit with the big deal he wants to get, and not to mention the price they’re going to have to give the Jets to take him a year before the end of his contract. The Indianapolis Colts and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are interested, and so are the Broncos, 49ers and Seahawks. Seattle seems especially capable of pulling this one off, with Matt Flynn as their trade chip, with the Jets needing a quarterbacks.
The catch with Revis and the value he commands is that teams will want to see how he looks on the field first before pulling the trigger, so even if the Jets go on with their rebuilding plans in 2013: acquiring as many draft picks as possible while giving up on expensive assets, trading Revis will have to wait for later in 2013.