Following a complaint from the New England Patriots, the NFL sent investigators to interview the New York Jets for tampering with Darrelle Revis.
The signing of Darrelle Revis by the New York Jets became one of the biggest story lines of NFL free agency to date, with the shut-down corner returning to his old stomping grounds with the hopes of leading the Jets out of the bottom of the AFC East. Instead, it is quickly turning into a sideshow revolving around possible tampering charges filed by the New England Patriots.
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According to a report from Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, the NFL sent an investigator to talk with Jets general manager Mike Maccagnum and other members of the front office on March 8th, presumably to discuss the legitimacy of the Patriots concerns over possible by the Jets with Revis. However, the NFL did not interview owner Woody Johnson and ultimately decided not to file any charges against the Jets in the matter.
The tampering charges stemmed from comments made by Jets owner Woody Johnson on December 29th, with Johnson saying, “But Darrelle’s a great player. I’d love Darrelle to come back.” The Patriots filed the charges almost immediately afterward, as the NFL has a policy preventing owners or coaches from making overtures to potential free agents until three days prior to the opening of the signing period.
To the Patriots, this was additionally difficult to take, as they felt they had a legitimate chance to resign the cornerback and bring Revis back in to anchor their pass defense again in 2015. According to Patriots owner Robert Kraft, they may have even had Darrelle Revis returning to New England on a deal for less money that the Jets agreed to with Revis. Of course, Kraft played it off with a joke.
"“The money was about the same, he was actually favoring us, coming to us a little cheaper, but he had one demand, and that demand was … he wanted to change the name down the street here of Castle Island to Revis Island.” (h/t NFL.com)"
In the end, Darrelle Revis chose to sign with the New York Jets, choosing the comforts of the team he spent the first six years of his NFL career with. Of course, the 5-year, $70 million contract ($39 million guaranteed) didn’t hurt those chances either. He’ll look to continue to to make his name as one of the best shut-down corners in football and help propel the Jets back to the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Patriots will simply move on and try to find someone to fill the void.
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