On Thursday, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis called the team “cheap” once or twice while meeting with the media.
On Friday, owner Woody Johnson responded.
“Last year, they said I was overspending like Dan Snyder or Al Davis,” Johnson told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “I was accused of being a profligate spender. Now, you’re saying that I’m not spending enough. We spent enough. . . . We’ve been on the high end of the league spending for the 10 years that I’ve been in the league. I’ve never told Mike [Tannenbaum] that he couldn’t get a player. We have to live within the rules of the NFL and within the cap and with the player rules that were set years ago.”
But here’s the difference. The Jets have been spending, but not on players whom they’ve drafted and developed. Instead, the big money has gone to guys like linebacker Calvin Pace and nose tackle Kris Jenkins, who came via free agency or trade.
The separate problem comes from the perception by multiple players that the team has promised to “take care” of young players while not following through.