Before he chose to sign with the New England Patriots, Darrelle Revis had not ruled out returning to the New York Jets. Revis had interest in returning to the place where his NFL career began after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers released him, and Rex Ryan reportedly wanted him back. Woody Johnson and the Jets’ brass apparently had no interest in a reunion, which seems to have offended Revis.
According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, Revis met with Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft at Kraft’s apartment when he was finalizing his deal with the Pats and made it clear that he wants to “rub it in the Jets’ noses” that they chose not to bring him back. Cole, citing three sources close to Revis, speculates that we can “expect something special” from Revis on Thursday night.
Cole seemed to have an idea of what it is Revis was planning, but he said he doesn’t want to “spoil the fun” for the All-Pro corner. So what could it be?
Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald notes that Revis has supposedly been itching to catch a touchdown pass against his former team. When asked if that was true and something he discussed with Belichick and Kraft back in March, Revis stopped short of brushing off the idea.
“I mean, I’m very confident in catching balls,” he said. “I know that. We’ve got some great receivers on this team. Usually when something happens like that, it’s the depth chart, maybe injuries. Knock on wood, I hope we don’t get to that point.
“But if there was an opportunity, if Bill came to me and said we need help, I’m willing to do whatever coach says. And that’s any position. That’s just what it is. We get asked to do some crazy things sometimes. Whatever coach needs me to play, I’ll be up for the challenge.”
When asked if there is a plan for him to catch a pass at some point, Revis smiled and said “we’ll see” and that those decisions are up to Belichick.
Belichick is no stranger to moving players around. Former Pats linebacker Mike Vrabel caught several touchdown passes as a goal-line tight end. Wide receivers Troy Brown and Julian Edelman have spent time playing defensive back and former backup quarterback Doug Flutie even executed a dropkick for an extra point several years back.
Of course, you would have to think a lot of this depends on the score. Are the Patriots going to try to force a pass into Revis in a close game just to make the Jets look bad? I highly doubt it, but then again you never know with The Hoodie. With all the speculation surrounding the surprise, perhaps the Patriots will use Revis as a decoy. It’s certainly something to keep an eye on.
