It has only been three days, but it seems like it's been months since Revis has began his hold out. After hearing how well Cromartie has played in camp, it is only making me itch more and more for Revis to return and get this whole situation straightened out.
But how? The Jets obviously don't want to pay Revis huge money. Revis obiously wants to listen to his greedy uncle and wait for top-dollar. How does one make a superstar come to camp without said contract?
The Jets could take a huge risk and give Mangold a new deal. As of now, it looks like the Jets are willing to use the franchise tag on Mangold for 2011. Since Mangold came to camp, despite his unhappiness about his contract, he is setting a standard for leadership and commitment. Why shouldn't the Jets reward such behavior?
By giving Mangold a new deal, the Jets would be doing business the Steeler way, where you don't negotiate with players who hold out. Revis isn't holding out because he's lazy; he's holding out for money, I'm sure he wants to be in camp. Giving Mangold a new deal could entice Revis to return so he could get the same.
Therein lies the big question: Would Revis take the bait? If the Jets were to even pull off such a maneuver, the Revis camp could interpret this in a few ways: 1) As a slap in the face, we-don't-need-greedy-players kind of move. 2) As a PR move to make Revis look bad or 3) As a gesture to show that if you want a new contract, come to camp and be a part of the team.
Even if Revis DOES interpret this in a positive way, which I would doubt, will the Jets ever come through and give him the deal he wants? No. But bringing him into camp takes away any leverage he has over the Jets, and he would be more inclined to take a lesser deal, or even a "band-aid" deal.
So, would this idea work? I would say it would be a huge risk, financially as well as a risk to further damaging the relationship between the Jets and Revis. However, if we're still sitting here in the middle of August and Revis is nowhere to be found, this may well have to be an avenue to explore.