Did new New York Jets' general manager John Idzik drop the ball on a potential Darrelle Revis trade to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? There are a couple different trains of thought here. First, by waiting so long (into April), Idzik has allowed the free-agent cornerback market to play out. This enables the Jets to have a bit of negotiating power when it comes to talking with cornerback-needy teams.
The polar opposite view here is as follows. By waiting so long to potentially deal Revis, the Jets have narrowed down the market for his services to just a couple teams. Example here would be that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren't going to bid against themselves. Once the San Francisco 49ers signed Nnamdi Asomugha to a one-year contract on Tuesday, yet another team rumored to be interested in the All-Pro became less of a possibility.
By looking at teams who need a cornerback, have the draft picks to acquire Revis and possess the necessary cash under the cap to pick up his '13 salary; it's easy to come to the conclusion that just a handful of teams could logically acquire Revis. Out of those teams, I am pretty sure just a couple would be attractive destinations for the veteran cornerback.
Tampa Bay had seemed willing to offer up its first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. However, the Jets were holding out for the Buccaneers first-rounder later this month. An obvious common ground would be a mid-round pick in 2013 and the Buccaneers first-rounder next season. Though, that's just pure conjecture on my part.
Again, the Buccaneers are not going to up their offer for Revis because the demand just doesn't seem to be there from other teams. It could be that the best New York might get for him is the deal I mentioned above. While not too shabby, Idzik was likely hoping for a high-round pick this season.
Then there is the possibility that Tampa Bay decides to lower its offer for Revis. This could send the wrong message to the Jets, but it really is a business. If the Buccaneers perceive Idzik and company don't have any other legit suitors for Revis, why would they still offer up a first-rounder?
On the other hand, Tampa Bay isn't in an enviable position here. It has attempted to restructure the contract of Eric Wright, but to no avail. In addition, the Buccaneers just don't seem to have two starter-caliber cornerbacks on the roster. They could look in that direction later this month, but we all know how much rookie defensive backs tend to struggle in the NFL. Why not go out there and get the consensus No. 1 cornerback in the NFL and slot him in as a shutdown guy?
Yes, it gets a bit tricky.
Other teams with the money and need to acquire Revis may not be logical destinations. The Cincinnati Bengals have an additional second-round pick by virtue of the Carson Palmer trade a couple years back. That being said, they have been unwilling to dole out a large sum of money to exterior roster options. The Cleveland Browns have money under the cap, but are lacking a second-round pick due to the selection of Josh Gordon in the supplemental draft last year. In addition, Revis wouldn't be too happy to be sent packing to Ohio.
The Philadelphia Eagles have been mentioned as a possible landing spot. That being said, they signed Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher earlier earlier in the offseason and have a capable young nickel guy in Brandon Boykin.
Could a deal still possibly be worked out with San Francisco? Sure. It has 13 picks in the 2013 NFL Draft. That being said, it doesn't have the cap room to bring Revis on and seems to be set at cornerback after acquiring Asomugha yesterday. New York would likely have to take on Carlos Rogers and settle for a low-ball offer from Trent Baalke in order to get it done. This doesn't even take into account the contractual issues that come with trading one veteran for another.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but I am pretty sure Revis ends up on the Buccaneers before April comes to a close. New York's only other viable option might be to hold on to the disgruntled vet and pickup a third-round compensatory selection next year.
Why would it do that?