Darrelle Revis chose to sit out part of mini-camp practice today, and offered two different reasons as to why.
Revis initially told Manish Mehta he was feeling "just a little light-headed." Later, he revealed his real motive, and said he was "fighting for his family."
'Family' obviously is in reference to the "big four," which is comprised of Revis, Mangold, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, and David Harris. These younger stars have been referred to as the Jets 'core,' the future of this team --all of which are looking for new contracts in the very near future.
Revis had some thoughts as to why he sat out part of practice today:
."Yeah," Revis said. "I talked to (secondary coach) Dennis Thurman about it too. We joked about it. He knows where I stand and what I believe in.... I can't control what the Raiders paid Nnamdi Asomugha. But he set the bar.... I don't have to be paid that much, but me and my team are going to fight for that."
"To me, it's like an insult... you sending me stuff with not guaranteed money in the contract," Revis said. "That's not good."
He added (Per NYpost):
"It could be 50 cents more [than Asomugha]. Give me 50 cents more, and we’ll be OK," Revis said.
Won't beat this to death because John already posted a nice opinion piece, but just want to say, I wish we could get back to old-school football, and have him out there playing. Yes, it's just a minicamp practice, but it's bigger than that. It seems his attitude has changed a bit also.
In recent years this new trend of "holding out" has become more and more frequent in the NFL. Seems like the new breed of players are a bit more money-driven rather than performance-driven, and we know money is the root of all evil. Is it a money issue, a pride issue ("he got paid more then I did"), or a combination of both?
What happens if Revis gets a fat, multi-year deal? Does that mean he's settles in, and this gives him an excuse to slack off a bit? He's the best CB on the planet, there's no disputing that, just hope we can get this resolved before a domino effect occurs, and it spreads to the rest of the "big four" who are also looking for long-term deals.
Follow me after the jump for Rex's thoughts on the issue:
HC Rex Ryan said he believed Revis when he got word that the Pro Bowler may have been feeling a little light- headed.
"When they tell you something is not right, you believe them to be a man of their word," Ryan said. "I believe Darrelle would be that way. Now if he's pulling a fast one on us, he's pulling a fast one on us."