Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Revis Island jetting to New England for a year

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

Jets fans, your worst nightmare has now been realized.

A little more than a year after trading him away to Tampa Bay, and less than a day after hitting the free agent market, the New England Patriots agreed to a one-year deal with cornerback Darrelle Revis Tuesday, according to Adam Schefter. The deal is reportedly worth $12 million.

Aside from the obvious anguish the 28-year-old star corner's move evokes now that he's with a heated divisional rival, the deal is doubly painful for New York, as the team saw its third-round compensation pick from Tampa turn into a fourth-round pick when Revis was cut by the Bucs earlier in the day.

For New England, the move quickly makes up for the loss of recently departed corner Aqib Talib, who signed a six-year deal with the Denver Broncos, and it's the team's biggest free-agent signing in recent history.

The Pats have historically balked on shelling out big money for deserving (or emerging) stars with expiring contracts (hello Wes Welker and Julian Edelman), and they've been particularly stingy when it comes to paying defensive players.

The big question now will be how healthy Revis can stay following a year where he played at less than 100 percent and was coming off major knee surgery. If anything, the move may show that Bill Belichick has learned a thing or two following the team's most recent Super Bowl losses and has taken a cue from the league's most recent winners.

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