As Jets G.M. John Idzik tries to squeeze as much as possible from the Buccaneers for cornerback Darrelle Revis, Idzik has unfurled a new strategy.
He’s being coy. Or, as the case may be, even more coy.
Sal Paolantonio of ESPN reports that the Jets are pressing the “pause button” on the possibility of trading Revis to the Buccaneers. Per Paolantonio, the Bucs are offering “multiple picks,” which includes their 2013 first-round selection.
We reported last week that, despite a perceived dispute between the two teams regarding whether the first-round pick would come from the 2013 or 2014 draft, the Buccaneers were willing to send this year’s first-rounder, the 13th overall selection.
“Pause button” or not, few will believe that the Jets now plan to keep Revis. Though there has been some speculation that Idzik thinks he could persuade Revis to sign a long-term deal, the Jets aren’t behaving like a franchise that has Revis in the long-term plans.
If the Jets wanted to keep Revis, he’d be in Arizona right now, rehabbing his ACL at his preferred location. And if the Jets wanted to keep Revis, the “pause button” on a possible trade would have been pressed -- and the “play button” would have been removed -- weeks ago.
This is about Idzik letting it play out as long as he can. He knows the Bucs aren’t going away; if they were going, they’d already be gone. So Idzik can wait until the last minute (whenever that may be), apply one final squeeze to the Buccaneers, and hope to get a little more than the Bucs currently are offering.
Unless the Bucs unexpectedly pull the plug, the Jets and Idzik have nothing to lose.