There’s been a lot of speculation about whether Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis will hold out this summer.
In a lengthy interview with Jenny Vrentas of the Newark Star-Ledger, Revis said that he has never asked for a new contract and that he will try to honor his current contract “the best way I can.” The obvious way to do that is to play under the terms of the deal, but Revis admitted that he’s looking for a multi-year extension that keeps him with the Jets for the long term.
“I want to retire here,” Revis said. “I think Mike (Tannenbaum) knows that. I think Rex (Ryan) knows that. (The Jets) drafted me, they gave me a chance, so yeah, I want to be here and never play for another organization again. If they feel that, if Mike feels that I’m that type of person to be here, then they will compensate me. If not, then it’s the business of it.”
Revis is much more likely to get paid at this time next year. If he were to hold out, which is pretty much his only card to play other than continuing to be one of the best defensive players in football, the Jets can add three years at $3 million per onto the end of his deal. Come next year, though, Revis will be entering the final year of a deal that does not permit the Jets to use the franchise tag on Revis. Revis seems to understand that.
“I could come here every day and make a hassle, ‘I want to get paid,’ but if they don’t want to do that — if Mike doesn’t want to do that — then they don’t want to do that,” Revis said. “It might be that way. It might be they want to do it, but they’ve got to figure out the best situation to get it done.”
Revis’ best situation is obviously getting a deal done now and avoiding the possibility of an injury that would make it less desirable for the Jets next year. The Jets would be awfully silly to do that given the leverage they have over Revis at this point. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, but all of the Revis chatter that’s popped up of late is really just an appetizer for next year. That’s when the Jets will have to sign Revis or risk losing him as a free agent after the 2013 season.