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Darrelle Revis

AFC Notes: Jets, Spikes, Raiders, Broncos

March 17th, 2014 at 6:17pm CST by Matt Feminis

Losing free agent Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to the Giants is not sitting well with members of the Jets who blame GM John Idzik for losing the player, reports Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. In a three-pack of Tweets, Mehta says Idzik blew it by letting Rodgers-Cromartie visit the Giants, quotes an employee saying Idzik “operates on his own time and schedule” and adds head coach Rex Ryan “is pissed” about losing out on Rodgers-Cromartie. This on the heels of Ryan reportedly wanting the team to bring back Darrelle Revis, who landed with the division rival Patriots.

In other AFC news:

  • Free agents Kevin Boothe and Alex Carrington “are still in the building,” according to San Francisco Chronicle Raiders beat writer Vic Tafur (via Twitter).
  • The Bills introduced Brandon Spikes on Monday (contract details here), and ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak relayed some of Spikes’ first comments as a Bill, most notably that Spikes chose Buffalo because of his relationship with Pepper Johnson.
  • The Broncos have made a handful of expensive free-agent additions, and ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold explains how they were able lure and afford marquee talent. For starters, the roster consists of 34 players with cap hits of $2MM or less.
  • Packers free agent offensive lineman Marshall Newhouse will meet with the Bengals, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter).

Patriots Sign Darrelle Revis

March 17th, 2014 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

Less than 24 hours after Aqib Talib agreed to sign with the Broncos, the Patriots found his replacement. New England agreed to terms on a contract with star cornerback Darrelle Revis last Wednesday and made it official today, according to Revis’ agents (via Twitter).Darrelle Revis

The Pats essentially locked up Revis to a one-year, $12MM deal, though the team also has an option for 2015 at a rate of $20MM, meaning it’s technically a two-year, $32MM contract. The option includes a $12MM roster bonus due April 1, 2015, and would feature a base salary of $7.5MM. The catch here is that the club option means New England can’t designate Revis as its franchise player for ’15 and won’t receive a compensatory pick if the option is declined.

Revis, 28, was released earlier last Wednesday by the Buccaneers, ahead of a 3:00pm CT deadline. Had Tampa Bay kept the cornerback beyond 3:00, he would have been owed a $1.5MM roster bonus, and the Bucs would have owed the Jets a third-round draft pick rather than a fourth-rounder, due to the terms of last year’s trade. Once Revis hit the open market, the Eagles and Jets were among the teams mentioned as potential suitors, but New England, having just lost Talib, always looked like the bidder to beat.

After missing 2012 with a torn ACL, Revis once again ascended to the top of Pro Football Focus’ cornerback rankings in 2013 for the Bucs (subscription required). It was the second time the former first-round pick had finished atop PFF’s annual cornerback rankings, and the fourth time he had placed inside the top three. In addition to his impressive grades according to the advanced metrics, Revis recorded 50 tackles and grabbed a pair of interceptions.

Revis’ previous deal included annual cap hits of $16MM, so the Pats were wise to not give up a draft pick to acquire him via trade, instead locking him up for a lesser salary. For Revis, a strong season with the perennially contending Pats could land him another big multiyear contract a year from now. Of course, that’s assuming he even has interest in a long-term deal — his deal with Tampa Bay, with its lack of prorated bonus money, essentially functioned as a year-to-year pact.

Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter) first reported that Revis would be signing with the Patriots, while Tom Pelissero of USA Today (all Twitter links) added contract details. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Best Remaining Free Agent

March 15th, 2014 at 10:52pm CST by Peter Sowards

It’s been an exciting and busy few days since the 2014 NFL league year officially opened Tuesday, and many of the top free agents have already relocated or re-signed with their respective teams. Also, marquee names released by clubs — like DeMarcus Ware and Darrelle Revis — have landed with top contenders priming for Super Bowl runs.

That being said, we’re interested in seeing who you think is the best remaining free agent. We’ll start with the players remaining from Luke Adams’ top 25 NFL free agents, then add players like Antonio Cromartie who were released by their teams and have yet to be signed.

Feel free to defend your vote in the comments section below.

Extra Points: Freeney, Young, Edelman

March 15th, 2014 at 6:20pm CST by Rob DiRe

Dwight Freeney has agreed to take a pay cut to remain with the Chargers, according to Michael Gehlken of the U-T San Diego. The move clears about $900,000 in cap space for the team and reduces Freeney’s base salary from $2.5MM down to $1.625MM. It also reduces his roster bonus from $500,000 to $375,000.

Other notes from around the league this evening…

Broncos Offered DRC Six-Year Deal, Made Run At Revis

March 13th, 2014 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, before the Broncos signed Aqib Talib, they approached Darrelle Revis‘ camp with a similar six-year, $54MM proposal. However, Revis declined, sticking to his demand for $12MM per year. The timeline of events isn’t entirely clear, since the Broncos reached their agreement with Talib on Tuesday night, while Revis wasn’t officially released until Wednesday.

Perhaps even more interestingly, Florio hears that before pursing Talib or Revis, the Broncos also made a six-year, $54MM offer to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who didn’t accept it. It’s possible that Denver’s offer to DRC didn’t include as much guaranteed money as the team’s agreement with Talib. Still, it’s a surprise that Rodgers-Cromartie would turn down such a seemingly lucrative deal unless the specific terms were very unfavorable

Florio also passes along the financial details on Talib’s contract with the Broncos, which will pay him $12MM in 2014 if he stays healthy, and has base salaries guaranteed for injury only in 2015 and 2016. The contract is more like a three-year, $27MM deal, even though it has the potential to max out at around $57MM.

AFC East Notes: Revis, Smith, Starks

March 12th, 2014 at 10:00pm CST by Ben Levine

News broke earlier tonight that Darrelle Revis will be joining the Patriots, and Albert Breer of NFL.com has a couple of interesting notes on the big move. According to Breer, nothing prevents the Patriots from franchising the corner in 2015 (via Twitter). Revis’ tag for 2015 would be $14.4MM, a 20% raise on his current salary, but that may be moot, since the Patriots hope to lock up the ex-Buccaneer to a long-term deal after a “feeling-out period,” Breer says in another tweet.

More news from around the AFC East…

  • The Jets never engaged in any substantive conversations on Revis, tweets Brian Costello of the New York Post. General Manager John Idzik never even got the opportunity to talk to Revis’ camp.
  • Furthermore, Jets head coach Rex Ryan wanted to “badly” bring back the cornerback, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Mehta adds that the decision was “over his head.”
  • Shelley Smith is meeting with the Patriots after he left New York without a deal from the Giants, tweets Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Thomas adds that Smith also has a visit scheduled with the Dolphins.
  • With Revis’ deal taking up $12MM of the Patriots‘ ~$17MM cap space, Vince Wilfork has to restructure his contract or seek employment elsewhere, opines Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).
  • Specifics for Randy Starks‘ contract from Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (via Twitter): $2MM signing bonus, $3MM guaranteed base in 2014, $5MM in 2015 with $2MM in incentives. Those incentives kick in if the Dolphins win 10 games and Starks plays 65% of the snaps.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Latest On Darrelle Revis

March 12th, 2014 at 7:15pm CST by Zachary Links

The Buccaneers are cleaning house and earlier today they made star cornerback Darrelle Revis walk the plank. Here’s the very latest on Revis and his future…

  • The talks between Revis and the Jets (mentioned below) were initiated by the cornerback’s side in an attempt to see if there was interest, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post (via Twitter)

Earlier updates:

  • The Jets and Revis have been in touch about a possible reunion, reports Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. According to Mehta, the cornerback would like to play for Rex Ryan again, and that interest is believed to be mutual, but it’s unclear if the team’s management and ownership would be fully on board as well.
  • Buccaneers GM Jason Licht says “it came close a couple different times” when asked about a potential trade for Revis on NFL Network, tweets Ian Rapoport.
  • A member of Revis’ camp is confident that he will end up on Patriots, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “It’s going to happen,” the source told Mehta.
  • Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com (on Twitter) hears from a source that the Eagles are expected to make a play for Revis. Meanwhile, Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com (on Twitter) says Revis to the Eagles is not going to happen. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter) doesn’t see it happening with the Eagles since their scheme doesn’t require a shutdown CB.

Buccaneers Release Darrelle Revis

March 12th, 2014 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

2:50pm: The Buccaneers have officially announced the release of Revis. In a statement, GM Jason Licht cited the team’s “specific ideas regarding the best way to build this defense” as motivation for the move.

2:31pm: The Buccaneers are cutting star cornerback Darrelle Revis, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Tampa Bay had tried to trade Revis this week, but seemingly couldn’t find a suitable offer. If the team had kept the veteran corner beyond 3:00pm central time today, he would have been owed a $1.5MM roster bonus, and the Bucs would have owed New York a third-round pick rather than a fourth-rounder.

After missing 2012 with a torn ACL, Revis once again ascended to the top of Pro Football Focus’ cornerback rankings. While Bucs coach Lovie Smith has stated that Revis and his fondness for playing man-to-man coverage could fit in Tampa’s Cover-2 defense, the cornerback’s contract, which included a $16MM annual cap hit, ultimately proved untenable for a Bucs team that decided to use that money to add several other players. Because none of Revis’ cap hit was tied to prorated bonuses, Tampa Bay clears the entire $16MM from its books.

While no team was willing to give up a draft pick to acquire Revis at his previous salary, plenty of clubs are expected to express interest now that he’s an unrestricted free agent. The Patriots, who lost Aqib Talib, are one suitor to watch. One member of Revis’ camp told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News this afternoon that he thinks the cornerback will eventually land with the Patriots (Twitter link). A return to the Jets has also been viewed as a possibility.

Darrelle Revis Rumors: Wednesday

March 12th, 2014 at 10:51am CST by Zachary Links

If there was any question about whether the Buccaneers would move Darrelle Revis, it appears that the club has answered that with an emphatic yes. Last night, the Bucs signed one of the top available cornerbacks on the market in Alterraun Verner. With a four-year, $26.5MM deal struck with the former Titans standout, we can expect Revis to be donning a different uniform in 2014. Hopefully, it’s something nicer than the Bucs’ calculator font jerseys. The latest on Revis…

  • Albert Breer of the NFL Network doesn’t think there’s any way the Patriots would trade for Revis, but says the team has talked about signing the cornerback if he’s released (Twitter link).
  • The Falcons, Eagles, and Giants are among the other clubs that have called Tampa Bay about Revis, according to Ian Rapoport, though he adds (via Twitter) that he’s not sure any of those teams will trade for him. Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (Twitter link) thinks the Giants were just checking out the situation and aren’t likely to pursue Revis even if he’s cut.
  • Rapoport also notes (via Twitter) that restructuring Revis’ deal to convert this year’s salary into a signing bonus would reduce the cornerback’s 2014 cap hit to just $5.6MM.

Earlier updates:

  • The Patriots have been among those who have called to expressed interest in a trade for Revis, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Still, Revis doesn’t plan on taking a pay cut. Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (on Twitter) also hears that the Pats are a possibility.
  • Reports are out saying Bucs have released Revis but they appear to be premature, Cummings tweets.

Remaining Options At Cornerback

March 11th, 2014 at 11:18pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Aqib Talib contract is the latest free agent signing that has shaken up the NFL landscape, leaving few options at cornerback and many teams with a need at the position. There are still some very productive players, and even a few big names on the market that could fill those needs. Here’s a brief roundup:

  • Assuming Darrelle Revis gets cut by the Buccaneers, an assumption that seems safe at this point, he will become the top free agent left on the market. He could have many potential landing spots, and will most likely draw interest from the Patriots to replace Talib.
  • Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was in negotiations to return to the Broncos, but the team has reportedly pulled their offer after signing Talib, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Twitter).
  • Tracy Porter is visiting with the Giants, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Porter was one of the few bright spots for the Raiders in 2013.
  • Charles Tillman and Cortland Finnegan are both veterans that could be available for small money on short term deals. Tillman was thought to be a fit with the Buccaneers before Verner signed there. Finnegan has not drawn much interest so far.
  • The Jets and Lions are both still in need of help at corner, and it would be risky to go into the draft without adding anything at the position.
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