Some Thoughts on Patriots Potential Interest in Darrelle Revis
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There has been some speculation that the Patriots could be players in the sweepstakes to land cornerback Darrelle Revis, and while it's hard to imagine the Patriots pulling the trigger to pry him away from the Buccaneers, here are some thoughts on that potential move.
1) It's up to Revis - According to a couple of reports, the veteran defensive back is willing to restructure his deal, which would certainly make him more attractive for teams to bid with Tampa Bay for his services. The bigger question now is whether or not Revis is willing to change his previous philosophy of following the money, or if he's decided to focus on trying to win a championship. Every player is motivated by different things, and with Revis now at the age of 28 and having made plenty of money over his career, it will be interesting to see how that part plays out. The Patriots likely won't try and get him unless they believe they could keep him, and the financial implications involved would need to make sense for both sides. Whether or not Revis would be willing to leave some money on the table for a chance to join Bill Belichick's team with a chance to get a ring is a question that only he likely knows the answer to.
2) Forget the money, what will the price be to get him? - We can talk about the financial aspect of things all day, but the next question is going to be what the Buccaneers are going to want in return in order to ultimately decide to part with him. Tampa Bay is clearly in a rebuilding mode now and after a head coach and general manger change want to start putting together a team that can once again become a contender in the NFC. Moving one of their top players isn't going to happen unless they can get enough in return to make it worth their while, and the question now will be whether or not the Patriots would be willing to part ways with the necessary draft picks to get it done. As we've seen in the past, Bill Belichick values those heavily, so it would be hard to imagine him pulling the trigger if the asking price is too high. Then again, the Buccaneers reportedly may release him if a suitable trade partner can't be found, but that would likely increase his asking price if he's allowed to hit the open market.
It's hard to rule anything out at this point, but it's hard not to like the idea of Revis and Aqib Talib together in New England's secondary, especially if the reports of a deal being close with Talib are accurate. However, the likelihood of that happening would seem to be a long shot considering the financial implications and the philosophy the team tends to follow, although according to CSNNE's Mike Giardi they've at least had internal discussions about Revis.
Then again, stranger things have happened. The Buccaneers are reportedly looking to move Revis quickly and it appears whatever is going to happen will be happening sooner rather than later. Whether or not the Patriots are part of that equation remains to be seen.
