Revis happy to be back, as are the Jets
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Darrelle Revis had that stomach-churning feeling when he walked onto the Jets' lush grass field near the end of practice Monday, the type of emotions that accompany a kindergarten student on the first day of school.
"I didn't know how my teammates were going to accept me because I haven't been here for a month," he said. "So I had butterflies. But after they started chanting my name a little bit, it was a good feeling just to see the guys and just wanting to be around them because I haven't been here. So it was a good feeling."
A feeling that couldn't come quickly enough for Rex Ryan, who was nearly at the end of his rope. "It's kind of like a boyfriend-girlfriend, but the parents won't let you get together," Ryan said. "That was kind of how I felt. He wanted to play, I wanted him to play, but for some reason, it wasn't happening."
That should change today, though, when Revis practices for the first time since minicamp in preparation for Monday's season opener against the Ravens at New Meadowlands Stadium.
The All-Pro cornerback officially ended his 36-day holdout yesterday, inking his reported four-year, $46-million deal that includes a guaranteed $32.5 million. Revis' lengthy boycott was one of the most difficult in franchise history, and the spur-of-the-moment trek by Ryan and owner Woody Johnson to visit Revis - along with his uncle, Sean Gilbert, and Revis' mother, Diana - in South Florida Saturday afternoon got things rolling.
The true breakthrough came late Sunday night, when both sides began agreeing to some of the contract's parameters. Things were finalized yesterday.
Johnson and Ryan refused to take much credit for helping to break the stalemate, with the owner thinking the calendar had more to do with it. "It was a matter of the season being upon us," he said. "The Ravens are [Sept.] 13, 7 o'clock, ESPN, at our new stadium. That's a fact of life. There are plays to learn. There's getting in shape . . . I think the schedule was one of the more compelling parts of it."
Revis was fined $594,828, which will be donated to a charity determined by him and Ryan.
Revis, who was due a base salary of $1 million this season, thought it was important to be the NFL's highest-paid cornerback. He was adamant that his salary should top the $16.1 million of Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha, something Revis' agents said is now the case with their client's new deal.
"The numbers will reflect in our mind that he's being paid as the highest-paid cornerback," Jonathan Feinsod said.
"When the numbers come back, you'll see," Neil Schwartz said. "But we are not at liberty to discuss the numbers."
Now Revis can focus on getting ready to square off against the Ravens. During his holdout, Revis worked in Arizona and Florida. He spent time in his hometown of Aliquippa, Pa., but bolted when a reporter came to town trying to track him down.
He was back in New Jersey yesterday, ready to form that tandem with cornerback Antonio Cromartie.
"I wasn't happy,'' Revis said. "But I know there's two different sides: the business side and then there's the football side. This is something I'm learning, as well, the business side and how good it can be and how nasty it can get. So I'm happy going through the process. Like I said, it humbled me, and now I'm moving forward."
