Woody Johnson is positioned to pull off a coup by bringing back a defensive force that will bolster his wayward franchise.
The Daily News has learned that Johnson has been involved in serious internal discussions with Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan to make a push for perennial All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis if/when he becomes a free agent next week.
The Patriots aren’t expected to exercise Revis’ $20 million option bonus by March?9, setting the stage for a possible reunion between the Jets and the six-time Pro Bowler, who helped Bill Belichick and Tom Brady win the Super Bowl last month.
There are few images more nauseating in Florham Park than Revis hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in a Patriots uniform, but Johnson can electrify everyone from his fan base to his players and coaches by reacquiring one of the NFL’s biggest difference makers at the exact right time.
Revis’ unceremonious exit two years ago was the handiwork of a stubborn and myopic GM with no understanding of the player’s true value and impact, but Johnson now has an opportunity to rectify that mistake to help the new regime.
Revis was the face of Rex Ryan’s Jets, but bringing him back has little to do with nostalgia and everything to do with smart football decision-making.
Revis would be invaluable in Todd Bowles’ attacking defensive scheme that places a premium on press-man cover cornerbacks.
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Bowles, who blitzed an NFL-high 47% of the time the past two seasons with the Cardinals, won’t thrive with the cornerbacks at Ryan’s disposal last year. Revis is an Aston Martin. The Jets cornerbacks a year ago were a bunch of Flintstone mobiles.
Johnson’s admission the day he fired Ryan and John Idzik in December that he’d “love to have Darrelle back” prompted a hissy fit by the Patriots that resulted in a formal tampering charge against the Jets. Although Johnson’s words were harmless — he didn’t even know who the new GM and head coach would be when he praised Revis in response to a direct question — it makes perfect sense now to help the organization land a dynamic player, who will yield myriad benefits.
The steady growth of the salary cap makes a lucrative multi-year deal for Revis manageable. The NFL’s new TV packages have helped spur the growth that bumped the cap from $123 million in 2013 to $133 million in 2014 to $143.28 million this year. Teams will have a projected $150+ million to spend in 2016 and $160+ million in 2017. The Jets are about $55 million under the 2015 cap.
The Jets’ unenviable quarterback quandary has an unintended consequence that can help secure Revis too. Johnson doesn’t have a monster franchise-quarterback contract eating up salary cap space. The Seahawks took advantage of Russell Wilson’s cheap rookie deal by signing key players like Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman to lucrative multi-year deals in recent years.
Unless Geno Smith magically morphs into a superstar in the next two years, Johnson won’t have to worry about doling out a cap-busting $100 million deal (the going rate for elite signal callers).
Translation: The Jets have the financial means to land Revis, who reestablished himself as the best cornerback in the league two years after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery.
Revis’ presence would have a schematic ripple effect from player deployment (safety Calvin Pryor moving closer to the line of scrimmage) to play-calling (heavy dose of blitzing). The thought of the Jets’ already formidable defensive line working in concert with Revis on the back end, frankly, is frightening.
A Revis Island Grand Reopening, however, is far from a sure thing.
The Patriots won’t absorb the $25 million salary cap hit under terms of Revis’ current two-year deal, but the defending Super Bowl champions are expected to make a multi-year offer. “He’s been everything and more since he’s been here,” Patriots president Jonathan Kraft said last month.
The Jets will face potential landmines all over the AFC East in pursuit of Revis, whose success with Ryan makes it impossible to rule out the Bills. Mike Tannenbaum, the new football czar with the Dolphins, would love to acquire the player he traded up to draft in the first round eight years ago too.
There will be other suitors, of course, if/when Revis hits the open market, but the cornerback’s affinity for the place that helped turn him into a superstar makes his old team a legitimate landing spot.
There won’t be any hometown discounts for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs for four consecutive years — Revis understands the business of sports better than most athletes — so Johnson needs to make an offer to clearly separate the Jets from perennial winners like the Patriots.
So, what’s a strong deal?
The Jets would be wise to offer a five- or six-year contract with the idea of Revis retiring in green and white. The maximum value of the contract is largely meaningless. The real guarantees in the first three years should be the focus for both sides.
Revis signed a six-year deal ($16 million per year) with the Buccaneers after the Jets traded him away before the 2013 draft. A multi-year deal with $48 million over the first three years, including at least $40 million in full guarantees, would be a strong and fair offer from the Jets.
Revis, who turns 30 in July, should have three years of elite cornerback play left in the tank. The annual compensation after the third year should dip given his age and diminishing skill at that point. He might transition to safety in the latter part of his career, so Team Revis will have to make financial concessions on the back end of the deal.
Revis helped transform the Patriots’ secondary on his way to becoming a champion. He is a transcendent player at a position filled with professional thieves. He doesn’t steal money. He earns it.
Woody Johnson should seize the moment.
