Pro-Bowl corner Darrelle Revis found a new home with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The New York Jets traded their star corner to the Bucs in exchange for the 13th overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft, along with a conditional 2014 pick.
Revis also signed a new, six-year contract with Tampa Bay worth $96 million, making him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. According to ESPN, the new contract has no guaranteed money. This reduces some of the risk that the Bucs took by signing a player who is coming off ACL surgery. If Revis has any setbacks or is unable to return to top form, the Bucs can release Revis without any salary repercussions.
Tampa Bay expects Revis to be ready for Week 1 of the NFL season. "...where he'll be opening day is playing against the Jets. That's what I believe," Bucs general manager Mark Dominik told Sports Illustrated on Monday.
Sunday's announcement marks the end to a dramatic offseason filled with uncertainty for the corner. While the Jets' front office publically denied that they were shopping Revis, his name was routinely linked to trade talks. Jets general manager John Idzik spoke to reporters on Sunday night (via ESPN):
"It became quite evident to us that there is a substantial difference between Darrelle's view of his value and ours," he said. "It was never our intent to proactively go out and shop Darrelle...we wanted Darrelle to remain a Jet for the long term. Tampa reached out and displayed a sincere and sustained interest in Darrelle."
The 27-year-old Revis earned the reputation as a shutdown corner in his six seasons with the Jets, recording 294 tackles and 19 interceptions, along with four Pro-Bowl selections. If he proves to be healthy this season, he will give a tremendous boost to a Buccaneers defense that gave up almost 300 passing yards per game last season.
