With just 13 days left before their regular-season opener, the New York Jets and the agents for cornerback Darrelle Revis are quietly continuing negotiations on a new contract. A week after a source told FanHouse the sides were "almost there," the same source relayed to FanHouse on Tuesday that the talks are complicated but still progressing, and that both sides believe they will have a deal done before the Jets open the season on Monday, Sept. 13 against the Ravens.Revis has been spending his time in Pittsburgh, working out and training on his own so that once the deal is done, he'll be ready to jump right in -- despite missing all of training camp and, so far, the entire preseason. In the meantime, while observing a mutually agreed-upon media blackout, the team and the agents have been working on the details of a complex deal intended to satisfy Revis' desire to be the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.
It's unclear what the deal will eventually look like, but sources tell FanHouse that they believe it will have to set some sort of record in order to reflect Revis' belief, and the team's corresponding assertions, that he is the league's best cornerback.
That could mean a deal that pays Revis more per year than the $15.1 million Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha makes, though the Jets have balked at that in the past on the belief that Asomugha's deal is not reflective of where the top of the market should be. So potential compromises could include a deal that's the longest ever given to a corner, or the most in terms of total value, etc. The details are complicated because there's much to be ironed out in terms of guaranteed money and how the deal is to be structured around a potential 2011 lockout, but conversations are ongoing, and it does appear likely that the situation will get settled in time for the regular season.
"There are a lot of different possibilities still in play," the source said of the likely final structure of the deal.The Jets continue to observe the media blackout, refusing to discuss the Revis negotiations. But Jets coach Rex Ryan did say Monday that he remains confident the team can still have a great defense even without Revis and linebacker Calvin Pace, who will miss the first few weeks with a foot injury.
"We can get it done," Ryan said. "We've proved it all through the years. That's all I know is great defenses. That's what we stand for. It's not about one guy or two guys. Every team is going to go through one or two guys you're going to miss. That happened last year. When we opened the season, we never had Calvin and we never had Shaun Ellis. Last year, we lost [Kris] Jenkins for a lot of it. This is what we do. We're a team defense. That's why I know our defense will play great. There's not a question in my mind that we'll play great."
Ryan talks tough, and he means and believes what he says. But there's no doubt he'll feel better once Revis is signed.
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