The Jets released cornerback Darrelle Revis this week in a move that coach Todd Bowles said was about football and business considerations rather than a response to his arrest after an incident in Pittsburgh last month.
Bowles said news of the arrest was “shocking” because of what he knows of Revis, but answered “not at all” when asked if the arrest and charges impacted the team’s decision to move on without the veteran corner.
The decision, per Bowles, came down to Revis having a rough season in 2016 and the fact that Revis was set to make $15 million for the 2017 season. The coach acknowledged there was some talk about moving Revis to safety, but that they ultimately decided to move on without him.
“Obviously, the business side of it ... had a lot to do with it as well,” Bowles said, via ESPN.com. “Trying to move a guy and project a guy from corner to safety at that kind of salary is kind of tough.”
Revis and center Nick Mangold headline a series of recent veteran cuts by the Jets that will both create room under the salary cap and leave the Jets on track to be a young team for the 2017 season. That might worry some coaches as they enter their third year without making the playoffs in the first two, but Bowles said Thursday that he’s “not afraid of the unknown.”