We’ve all seen it. Darrelle Revis isn’t the same guy he was when he helped the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl two years ago. Heck, he’s not the same guy he was last year.
Once the most feared cover cornerback in the NFL, Revis Island has all too often been overrun by talented receivers making huge plays at his expense. Once a guy nobody would consider challenging, Revis is now getting targeted on a regular basis, and he’s losing many of those battles.
Over his entire career entering this season Darrelle Revis had allowed 80+ rec yards in a game 7 times. This week marked 4th time in 2016
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) November 13, 2016
With all that in mind, it’s not surprising that ESPN’s Rich Cimini doesn’t see the Jets keeping Revis on the roster following the 2016 NFL season.
“He got old fast, and his salary ($15 million) is prohibitive,” Cimini writes. “They could ask him to take a pay cut, but this goes beyond money. The organization has concerns about whether he still can be an effective press-man corner.”
We’ve seen A.J. Green absolutely abuse Revis this year, which isn’t all that shocking. But it was absolutely stunning to see Kenny Britt dominate him last weekend.
Revis himself has admitted, almost sounding a bit defeated, that his body is breaking down. He also recently said that his struggles are “because I’m old.”
One of the things that “old” cornerbacks have done at times to extend their careers is move to safety. The likes of Ronnie Lott, Charles Woodson and Rod Woodson are three of the most high-profile examples of this. By moving up to the top of the secondary, they can use their knowledge and instincts to put themselves into position to make plays without having to spend all game tailing the opposition’s most talented receivers.
It remains to be seen if the Jets would be amenable to moving Revis to safety at a discounted rate. It also remains to be seen if Revis is interested in such an arrangement.
But one thing is certain: Revis Island is a thing of the past. We’ve also seen him give no effort at all on some plays he could have been involved in (watch here).
Does that mean the Jets will move on? Time will tell. But this year has been filled with poor performances and a poor overall record for a team that had high expectations after winning 10 games last year.