Revis' holdout a dark cloud hanging over Jets' camp

CORTLAND, N.Y. - Woody Johnson isn't thrilled to be in the position he's in, not with all the Jets have riding on these next six months.

The owner has Super Bowl aspirations, but a tense situation - Darrelle Revis' holdout - has to be rectified before Johnson and the Jets can ponder the good things that lie ahead.

"Am I disappointed? Yes," Johnson said Monday. "I would like everything to be clear sailing right to the Super Bowl and we win that - boom, boom. We're done. Part of running a team and a franchise is dealing with disappointment . . .

"Darrelle, yeah I'm disappointed he's not here. But the lines of communication as Mike [Tannenbaum] talked about are open.''

Johnson asked his general manager to reach out to Revis' agents. He wants Tannenbaum to tell them he'd even go and speak with Revis to see if he could help work things out.

Rex Ryan hopes both sides can strike a deal sooner rather than later. "I'd love to have him here whenever," he said, "but if he signs a contract one day before the first game, Darrelle will be starting. It's as simple as that."

Revis believes he should be the NFL's highest-paid cornerback and wants more than the $15.1 million Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha gets annually. The Jets have made two offers, including one above $100 million.

There are rumblings that the fully guaranteed money is the issue. But Johnson shot that down, saying the biggest hangup is the amount of money both sides think Revis is worth.

"The main issue with us, at this point, is total compensation," Johnson said. "The guaranteed money or length, all those things are part of a contract. But . . . we haven't even negotiated those because we are so far apart on the other ones. I'd love to sit down and negotiate. We can be flexible."

Johnson dispelled the rumors that the franchise has a cash- flow problem, saying it's never been an issue in his 11 years of owning the team. He also said he's not leaving his mark on the Revis negotiations, preferring to let Tannenbaum do the job.

"I hired him and I extended him because I think he uses very good judgment and I'm not going to impose my judgment on him and say, 'I like this deal' or 'I don't like this deal,' " Johnson said. "If he comes to me with a recommendation and says, 'Woody, I think this is fair for us and I think this is fair for Revis,' we'll do it today."

Because of the reallocation rule, in order for the Jets to give Revis what he's asking for, they likely would have to dole out a hefty signing bonus. Johnson said he's willing to do that.

"If we can come together, have a spirited cooperation that gets us closer to the overall compensation that we think is fair for us and good for him," Johnson said, " . . . if we can come to that, then yeah, we can talk about that other stuff."

Johnson remains optimistic that the situation will end well.

"I think that Revis is a good person," he said. "Remember that movie about Revis? As a young man, he lived in an apartment and gave his bedroom to his brother and he slept in the hall. I don't know if you ever saw that. That's Revis. That's the Revis that I think of, and also as a great player. Revis is a good person, too."