Percy Harvin meant no disrespect when he mentioned he was “licking my chops” at the thought of going against Darrelle Revis Sunday night when the Jets meet the Patriots at MetLife Stadium.
“Licking my chops wasn’t based on anything other than the excitement of the matchup,” Harvin said Friday. “I have nothing but the utmost respect for him and the work that he’s put in. I just like to go against the best. That’s what I meant by licking my chops.”
Watching Harvin battle against Revis is some sort of poetic justice for what figures to be Rex Ryan’s final home game as the Jets coach. He’ll be playing against the Patriots, the team he couldn’t get past, a team that now has the cornerback Ryan planned to build his defense around. When historians look back on Ryan’s tenure as the Jets coach at the top of the “How the heck did that happen?” list will be Revis winding up with the Patriots.
Ryan figures to be gone at the end of the season, but the Jets can rectify the mistake they made this past offseason by signing Revis if he is released by the Patriots as expected. It’s a move that ensures the Jets will immediately improve at cornerback, a position that was decimated by injury and exposed for a lack of depth. Revis also can serve as a mentor to youngsters Dee Milliner, Dexter McDougle and Calvin Pryor.
Revis is set to count about $25 million against the cap next year if he remains with the Patriots under current terms. That won’t happen, raising the likelihood he could be on the open market if he doesn’t renegotiate to stay in New England.
“I don’t know what my future holds,” Revis said in a conference call earlier this week.
He wouldn’t comment on a potential return to the Jets, the team for which he played for six seasons after being a first-round draft pick in 2007.
Revis had called the Jets after being released by the Buccaneers last year, but the club had no interest in the cornerback and his contract demands. He wound up in New England and the Jets wound up exposed when cornerbacks Milliner, the top-pick in 2013, and McDougle, a third-round choice last year, were lost early in the season to injuries. Free agent signing Dimitri Patterson was cut before the season started for going AWOL.
Forced to play reserves, the Jets have allowed 38 passes of 20 yards or more, including a 56-yard completion for a touchdown to start the game at Minnesota last week and an 87-yard catch-and-run by Jarius Wright to give the Vikings a 30-24 victory in overtime.
Jets owner Woody Johnson and general manager John Idzik were seen huddled together in the hallways of the team’s facility on Thursday in what could be viewed as a show of solidarity. They smiled and were cordial as reporters were ushered past them.
If Idzik remains or if Johnson ultimately makes the decisions, signing defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson to an extension and getting Revis back, if he becomes available, would send a strong message to a fan base starving for positive news.
Revis might still be the best shut-down corner in the game, though the Seahawks’ Richard Sherman is stealing the spotlight these days. Revis still commands the respect of his opponents, including Harvin, who is looking forward to the mental chess match of going against the former Jet.
“You’d better study going against him because he’s going to be studying you,” Harvin said. “You can tell by watching film. There are a lot of times where he finishes routes for the receivers. He’ll have me figured out. So I have to have him figured out.”
Johnson was said to be fed up with having to negotiate Revis’ contract seemingly every other year. But that’s the nature of the business these days. It was no coincidence the Jets’ best years under Ryan came when he had the best cornerback in the game. Ryan may be on his way out, but the Jets should welcome a return of Revis Island.