Darrell Revis is the greatest defensive player to ever play for the New York Jets. He had a chance to go down in history as an icon for a franchise that has struggled for much of its existence. However, a recent arrest and felony charges clouded Revis' future with the Jets and an on-field drop in production led to the Jets cutting ties with the receiver.
The rise of Darrell Revis
Darrell Revis had an amazing career up until 2015. The New York Jets made him their first overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft (14th overall) and he paid dividends as one of the best cornerbacks the NFL had ever seen.
In his first three seasons, Revis recorded 14 interceptions and no receiver in the NFL could consistently play against him. He was so dominant that "Revis Island" actually became a thing. After his 2012 season ended due to injury, Revis left the Jets and moved on to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots.
The fall of Darrell Revis
While he was an amazing NFL Draft pick for the New York Jets, he was the biggest mistake they ever made in free agency. Darrell Revis had two interceptions in each of the two seasons away from New York but they remembered how great he was before leaving. The Jets gave him a monster $39 million contract -- which was huge for a man who was now 29-years-old.
He showed his age when he returned. His first year back, he had five interceptions but was no longer a dominant shut down cornerback. In 2016, he intercepted one pass and receivers were beating him. It was finally a fact that Darrell was no longer the NFL player he used to be.
What is next for Darrell Revis and the New York Jets?
The New York Jets might have been looking for a reason to drop the now overpaid cornerback and the Revis arrest was all the reason they needed to finally cut ties. A lot of people are acting like the Jets only dropped Darrell because of the arrest but sources told ESPN that it was his drop in on-field production and his $15.3 million salary in 2017 that caused the release. The Jets are still paying Darrell Revis to not play for them this year in the amount of $6 million guaranteed, and it's because he isn't the player he used to be.
