Wednesday Patriots Notebook 3/11: Patriots Move On Without Revis, WR Gibson Signed, More Notes
 Darrelle Revis is headed back to the Jets. (USA TODAY Images) |
Heading into free agency it was safe to say that history has shown that if you put the Patriots in the middle of a bidding war for a player, it generally doesn't tend to turn out well.
It didn't take the Jets long to sink their teeth into Darrelle Revis when free agency opened, and once they did things fell apart pretty quickly. By the time the first day of free agent feeding frenzy came to an end, Revis' time wearing a Patriots' uniform became nothing more than a memory.
It shouldn't come as a big surprise. The Jets are a fan base who have a team that has been irrelevant for a while now. Owner Woody Johnson likely went into these negotiations with blinders on while caring more about beating the Patriots in an environment where he felt he could compete, beating the Patriots with his checkbook while stealing Revis away and weakening one of his biggest rivals. It's a move that at least gives the fans something to at least feel good about, and at the end of the day there was too much to lose for him not to have gotten a deal done.
The money got out of control pretty quickly, with Revis reportedly agreeing to a 5-year $70 million deal that included $39 million guaranteed, approximately $10 million above the reported guaranteed money that Devin McCourty received when he agreed to his own extension. That's a lot of money for a player who is obviously pretty talented but more than the Patriots were willing to pay given their desire to remain among the NFL's elite year to year. You're talking about a team that has had double-digit wins dating all the way back to 2003 and hasn't had a losing season since 2000. There's a formula in place that clearly works, but obviously days like Tuesday are a disappointing reminder that that type of success occasionally comes with a cost.
Revis did his job in his one season. He helped stabilize a secondary that has been a mess in past seasons and allowed this team to finally win their elusive fourth Super Bowl ring. But now he's gone and the Patriots decided that Brandon Browner's financial cost was too much and told him to explore his value with other teams after not exercising his roster bonus.
When the two were signed last offseason, most viewed them as the key reasons why they might win another title. Looking back, both played a massive role and this team finds itself having come full circle and they're right back where they started. They were better with those two players and Revis was obviously a key reason. Now Tom Brady is back to having to face him twice a season and the Jets' defense just became a little more difficult for the foreseeable future.
The one saving grace is the fact that you can't dismiss the value he brought as a teammate and you could see a lot of improvement in coverage in the secondary with the guys around him compared to past years, which hopefully a lot of these younger players will carry over into 2015. That's at least one solace this team can hold on to, as well as the fact there's still plenty of time to hopefully bring in some additional talent to help build some depth. There's also the draft, additional cuts, as well as an opportunity for New England to potentially make a move to acquire someone in the months ahead. Granted, you can't replace a guy like him since none of them are going to be of Revis' caliber, but this is a team that has won a lot of games with lesser talent, and they'll likely still be in the mix again next January.
Revis has his ring, and now he'll likely go back to having an additional month of vacation in the coming years. Maybe he'll be happy with that, maybe he won't. He seemed pretty excited about "going home" to New York, and good for him, it's his prerogative. It's just too bad that the experience, along with the news of McCourty's extension that would have kept a pretty good duo together, wasn't enough for him to potentially want to do it again. Although since we don't know the difference between what the Jets offered compared to New England, if the gap was too good to walk away from then it makes sense.
Either way the Patriots are now back in the position of having to address the cornerback situation in the months ahead. Last year when they lost Aqib Talib they were able to rebound with Revis. At this point there's not exactly a fallback option, which is going to set up an interesting offseason where they'll hopefully at least find someone who can be a somewhat adequate replacement.
In the end, it was fun while it lasted. He's a special player who, by all accounts, was a great teammate and a terrific player in the locker room. But the NFL is a business and Revis treated it that way, and now the Patriots are forced to move on without him.
PATRIOTS SIGN WR GIBSON, SHEARD, MCCARTHY IN FOR VISITS:
The Patriots reportedly added wide receiver Brandon Gibson on Tuesday, with the former Dolphins wideout agreeing to a one-year deal. Gibson caught 29 passes for 295 yards along with a touchdown last season and could be a player who surprises some people in this offense.
They also reportedly took a look at Jabaal Sheard, who according to Adam Schefter visited the team on Tuesday night. The Browns linebacker is a versatile player who has seen time both at defensive end and linebacker with Cleveland and could potentially give the Patriots another player to compliment Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich as they try and continue improving their pass rush. The former second round pick in 2011 has 23 career sacks, and the Patriots could certainly use him to increase their own total.
New England also brought in another linebacker Tuesday night, with ESPN's Field Yates reporting that the team hosted free-agent linebacker Colin McCarthy. McCarthy is coming off of a 2014 season where he suffered a shoulder injury that caused him to end up on injured reserve. He's had a rough start and has missed 23 games since being selected in the fourth-round by Tennessee but has shown that when healthy he's got plenty of potential and could be another player who could bring some value to this group to a group that lost Jonathan Casillas on the first day of free agency, who signed with the Giants Tuesday.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Casillas will have at least one familiar face joining him in the locker room with the Giants, as according to Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo Patriots running back Shane Vereen agreed to a three year deal worth $12.35 million with the team. Vereen's loss leave's a void for the team after he handled their third down duties at running back last season. He lead the team with 17 carries for 106 yards on third down last season, including five first downs. He was also targeted 18 times on third down out of the backfield in 2014, catching 11 passes with 8 first downs, including two touchdowns. They've reportedly expressed interest in C.J. Spiller and Reggie Bush, so they're obviously looking to find someone to take over that production. So that will be something to watch in the months ahead.
- According to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald the team retained exclusive rights free agents Sealver Siliga, James Develin, and James Morris on Tuesday on one year tenders. However, receivers Brian Tyms and Greg Orton became free agents after reportedly not being offered deals.
- Free agent receiver Percy Harvin remains on the market and it appears he's still a potential target for the Patriots. It's believed that New England wanted to select him back in 2009 before the Vikings grabbed him, and several reports seem to feel that he's still on their radar.
- Mike Reiss reported Tuesday night that the Patriots re-signed special teams standout Chris White, who has been a good addition for them and was an important player for them after Casillas left via free agency. The 26-year old finished with nine special teams tackles in 2014, which was the third highest total on the team.
- The Patriots had expressed interest in free agent running back Roy Helu, but he opted to sign with Oakland yesterday. He had been a player who was seemingly a candidate to replace Vereen, but it looks like they'll have to continue exploring their options after Helu has decided to head west.
