After watching his skills decline dramatically in 2016, the New York Jets have decided that it’s time to move on from Darrelle Revis.
The Jets announced Tuesday that they will be cutting ties with the seven-time Pro Bowl corner. The move comes roughly two months after Revis finished one of the worst seasons of his career. The 31-year-old only tallied one interception in 2016, which was a far cry from his 2015 season when he picked off five passes and led the NFL with four fumble recoveries.
Including 2016, the former first-round pick played a total of eight seasons with the Jets.
“Darrelle Revis is one of the greatest players to ever wear a Jets uniform,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said in a statement. “His combination of talent, preparation and instincts is rare and helped him become one of the most dominant players of his generation. I appreciate Darrelle’s contributions to this organization and, wherever his career takes him, his home will always be here with the Jets.”
The decision to dump Revis will instantly free up $9.3 million in cap space for the Jets. Revis was set to count $15.3 million against the cap. Instead, the Jets will only be hit with his $6 million dead-money cap number. The veteran corner had three years left on a five-year deal that he signed with the Jets before the 2015 season.
The Jets went into the offseason with one of the ugliest salary cap situations in the NFL, and over the past two weeks, they’ve been doing their best to fix that.
On Feb. 15, the Jets declined to pick up the option of left tackle Ryan Clady, a move that saved the team $10 million in salary cap money. The Jets followed that up on Thursday by cutting kicker Nick Folk and right tackle Breno Giacomini, two moves that combined to save the Jets roughly $7.5 million in cap space.
The Jets then saved another $9.075 million when they released longtime center Nick Mangold on Feb. 25.
Although the decision to cut Mangold was kind of surprising, the Jets’ decision to dump Revis wasn’t. Not only were they dealing with his giant cap number and declining skills, but he was also charged with four felonies after an altercation in Pittsburgh on Feb. 16.
If Revis wants to continue playing, he may have to consider making the switch from corner to safety, something that he seemed open to when the 2016 season ended.
Besides the Jets, Revis has also played for the Buccaneers and Patriots during his 10-year career.
