Palladino: Darrelle Revis' Whining Serves No Purpose
By Ernie Palladino
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No one is irreplaceable.
Well, Darrelle Revis is, actually. As one of the few, true shutdown cornerbacks in the NFL, he is the one player the Jets would be absolute fools to trade away, even somebody gave them their entire draft for him.
The point is, there is no telling whether John Idzik has plans to trade him. But if he does, that's his business, not Revis'. General managers always reserve the right to do dumb things.
On the other hand, players today seem to think they're in some kind of partnership with the team when, in reality, they are simply hired help. Many of the better ones expect a steady stream of communication from above, even though few have the business acumen or talent evaluation abilities to handle player-acquisition issues themselves.
Thus, we have a fellow like Revis -- supremely talented, tenaciously coming off ACL surgery, looking for a bigger contract than the four-year, $32 million deal that ends after the coming season. A great player by all counts, but nevertheless a great player on a team sitting so far from a Super Bowl that his presence alone can't tilt the arrow far enough toward a MetLife Stadium "home" game on Feb. 2, 2014.
He's ticked because there are all these trade rumors floating around and he hasn't been given any assurances they're false. Or true.
Management could be playing a waiting game. See how his rehab is progressing, gauge whether he's on track for 100 percent, and then decide. Maybe Woody Johnson doesn't want to pay him, or maybe Idzik feels he'll have better things to do than deal with another inevitable holdout as Revis tries to squeeze that long-term mega-deal out of him.
A billion and one issues could be working into this. Or maybe none at all. But it again boils down to this: It's none of Revis' concern. Rehab, get ready to play. That's his job. The contract? That's his agent's job. Trades? That's up to Idzik.
Revis should reference what went on when Ernie Accorsi drafted Eli Manning back in 2004. Kerry Collins, who brought the Giants to the 2000 Super Bowl, immediately went to the general manager to ask off the team. He could read the writing on the wall, and he wanted out -- now!
Accorsi let him know he'd try to accommodate him. But when it would happen, who it would happen for, and even if it would happen, that was up to the GM.
Collins got his way, but not until Accorsi was ready to release him. Not until he scoured the market looking -- unsuccessfully -- for trade partners. He later signed Kurt Warner as a stopgap/tutor for Manning.
Revis isn't asking out. He wants to remain a Jet. According to the cornerback, Rex Ryan wants the same thing. So Revis should simply continue his work with that goal in mind, and take comfort in the fact that if the Jets don't want him, somebody else willing to fill a boat to the gunwales with dollar bills will.
Whining about a lack of communication serves no purpose.
He's not Johnson's or Idzik's partner. They can do something really, really dumb if they want. One of the perks of upper management, if you will.
He's the hired help. Great help, but hired just the same.
So shut up and play.
Agree with Ernie? Let us know in the comments!
