Darrelle Revis must be a smart man.
After years of tormenting the New England Patriots as a member of the New York Jets but still managing to end up on the losing side more often than not, he must have come to the conclusion that not being able to beat them means that joining their ranks is, in fact, the better decision.
Now, as he prepares to face off against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX as a member of the very Pats team he spent years bedeviling, he can sit back and revel in the shrewd, intelligent decision-making that led to his joining head coach Bill Belichick and Co.
Or, perhaps not - while he's, no doubt, happy with his ultimate choice, perhaps his real preference would have been to rejoin the franchise and head coach that he entered the NFL with and which developed him into the top-flight, All-Pro cornerback he now is.
A short, easily forgotten stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers notwithstanding, Revis has been an AFC East mainstay for the entirety of his NFL career and, according to a report from Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, even if Revis hadn't ended up with New England, he would have stayed in the division - with the New York Jets and head coach Rex Ryan.
"Sources said Jets coach Rex Ryan was consumed with re-acquiring Revis -- a former first-round pick of his and someone who could immediately lift New York's depleted secondary (one that ended up damning their season), but could gain no traction with his appeals to ownership and the front office."
Ryan's pleas to return Revis to the fold went unheeded. At one point, according to La Canfora, he confided to those close to him within the organization that he could pull off the acquisition of Revis "around Idzik's back" - Idzik being former Jets GM, John Idzik.
The plan "gained little traction within the front office" and Ryan shifted his focus to adding the veteran corner via free agency. But with his pull in the organization's front office waning, Ryan was never able to enact a deal - a deal that Revis would have been ecstatic with.
"Had Ryan been able to generate support to move on Revis via trade or free agent, the corner would have embraced the opportunity, with some close to him maintaining the Jets were his top choice. But it wasn't meant to be."
Beyond the Jets, Revis also had trade offers on the table from the Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns, but nothing came of it because he wasn't interested in playing for those franchises.
Now a member of the Patriots and readying to play in Super Bowl XLIX, Revis may have ultimately been fortunate that Ryan, fired by the Jets at the end of this season and now the new head coach of the Buffalo Bills, was unable to nab his former star pupil.
Or perhaps his presence in New York this year could have saved the season, and possibly Ryan and Idzik, from the keen edge of the axe.
