'Butterflies' and all, Darrelle Revis returns to field for Bucs -- sort of
After tearing his ACL last year, Darrelle Revis took part in Tampa Bay's first training-camp practice. He wasn't full speed, but at least he was out there.
By
Pete Prisco
•
4 min read
TAMPA, Fla. -- The thinking is simple-minded, really. Adrian Peterson came back from a torn ACL in less than a year to be even better, so why can't Darrelle Revis, one year later, do the same?
Nobody says Revis can't do it, but it's an assumption right now to say that he will be the same player -- or even better. This is different. He is a corner, which will make it just as challenging, if not more so, for Revis to return to his old form.
Adrian Peterson raised the bar. Is that even fair now to the rest of the ACL gang?
Revis took a big step to getting back when he joined his teammates Thursday on the field as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers opened training camp at their team facility. Revis, who came over to Tampa Bay from the New York Jets in the offseason's mega-trade, didn't do a lot. He took part in some individual stuff and special-teams drills -- some half-speed stuff -- but this marked another big moment in his return to being the game's best corner, which he was before tearing up his knee.
"I've been looking forward to this day since the day I was injured," Revis said. "I think the biggest thing is just trying to dust the cobwebs off and get back out there. At this stage the plan is just to take it day by day and that's what we're doing right now."
At 28 and in his seventh season, Revis said he didn't sleep much Wednesday night as he anticipated getting back onto the field. It was like his first day of camp back as a rookie with the Jets.
"I had butterflies for the first day of practice," Revis said.
The Bucs will take their time with him. There is a chance he won't play at all in the preseason. The target return is Sept. 8 when the Bucs open against the New York Jets, his former team. But Bucs coach Greg Schiano said it might be tough to keep Revis from playing before then since he's such a competitor.
Before putting him on the All-Pro team again, and waving the he's-back flag, the Revis I saw on Thursday seemed a long way from being ready to play. Then again, it's over a month away from the opener, and he's made great progress since tearing up his knee 10 months ago. It's hard to doubt a guy as determined as Revis, but ACL tears can be career changing, if not ending.
The pre-injury Revis was gold standard for corners. He was the next in a generation of man-coverage greats. It was Deion handing the baton to Champ and then Revis. But then he tore up the knee, making him damaged goods.
A handful of veteran corners I talked to this summer pointed out the difficulty in Revis potentially returning to his old form after ACL surgery.
"It's what happens when he get his hands on the guy and he has his leg planted and has to turn and go," one AFC corner said. "It's going to be interesting to see how he does it. It won't be easy. Can it be done? Yes. But it will be a challenge."
Even Schiano, who will keep close tabs on Revis this summer in terms of whether he will play in the preseason, said the thing that is unknown now is how Revis handles it when "there is pushback" from a receiver.
"If anybody can do it [come back the same], Darrelle can," Schiano said.
The Bucs sure hope he can. They traded two draft picks, one a first-round pick, and a potential third in 2014. The idea was to get the elite corner to help a secondary that was torched in 2012. In addition to Revis, the Bucs also signed veteran safety Dashon Goldson from San Francisco and drafted corner Johnthan Banks in the second round.
Tampa Bay not only traded the picks to get Revis, but also gave him a six-year, $96 milion contract extension. That shocked some league executives I talked with this spring and summer.
"That's a big risk for a player who might not be the same," one NFC general manager said. "I wouldn't have done it."
It's almost as if it's a boom-or-bust trade for the Bucs. If Revis is again the best corner in football, he will make the rest of the secondary that much better. A corner of his ability -- when healthy -- can take away one side of the field in man coverage. The Bucs could then do a lot of different things on the other side of the field.
Revis had his knees wrapped during the Thursday practice, but seemed to be able to move and cut on them freely.
"I just went out there and did what I could do [and] it went well," he said. "Tomorrow, I'll probably be able to do more and as the days go on, more and more."
This is the summer of Revis in Tampa. If he can truly get back to his old form, the Bucs will have a steal. He is in the prime of his career. And shutdown corners are hard to find.
But if he can't get all the way back, and he's just a solid player rather than a great one, the scrutiny and questions will come. And because Peterson raised the ACL bar, be ready for the onslaught, if Revis doesn't make it all the way back:
How come he's no Adrian Peterson? Can Revis reach those heights? Or will he be damaged goods that never again hold the value?
The Bucs hope they don't have to answer any of those questions.
