“We did our work on him. He can still play. He can cover. He doesn’t have that long speed anymore; he’s not going to cover a No. 1 receiver deep. But he can cover in tight spaces and he has great instincts. The film is not as bad as some would have you believe. He’s a perfect fit in that quarters scheme Belichick runs, and they have the kind of safeties who can help him out, too. We’re convinced he’s going back to New England. It just makes too much sense.”
Source: NFL personnel man: We’re convinced Darrelle Revis is going back to New England – CBSSports.com
Interesting. I still don’t really see it but let’s play along and figure out how Revis might fit in if he were to come back.
First, who knows what’s going to happen with Malcolm Butler. The Patriots hold all the cards and the only way they trade him to the Saints is if they get a boatload of draft capital. As I speculated last week, Belichick might just be letting the Saints to the dirty negotiating work, and if they come to a acceptable offer for Butler who’s to say the Pats won’t just take their cap space and take the chance to match the deal and lock up Butler long term like we all hoped they would do all along?
But for our purposes here let’s just assume Butler gets traded to the Saints. That leaves the Pats with five corners — Stephon Gilmore is the best guy, Eric Rowe came on late last year but was still brought in as the third corner and played outside while starter Logan Ryan shifted inside to the slot.
So the question is really who can handle the slot. And we can’t pretend the slot corner isn’t a starting position even if traditionally they were the third corner. It’s a vital spot, especially on third downs when quick hitting plays to the slot receiver are often key moments. Rowe is too long to play in the slot, so that would leave Cyrus Jones, Justin Coleman and Jonathan Jones. Coleman saw time in the slot in 2015, as did Jones late in 2016 though his most impressive work came on special teams. Jones seemed to play the majority of his snaps outside, despite having good traits to play inside.
Can Revis play in the slot? That might be the biggest question in gauging his fit in a return to New England. If his long speed isn’t as good but his quickness and smarts are still there it might work. And really, even if Butler returned the slot would still be somewhat of a need, though I’m sure they could figure it out with their current crop even if the answer isn’t obvious right now.
I definitely don’t see how Revis would fit in as a safety with McCourty, Chung and Harmon all in the mix under veteran contracts the Patriots made a point to settle. Karen Guregian had this to say last season:
If Belichick was convinced Revis could help, an attempt would likely be made if there was an opening at corner. Just as an aside, word has it, the idea of moving to safety came up the last time there was a negotiation between the two sides, and Belichick shot it down because he didn’t think Revis’ skills translated to the position.
There’s also Revis’ post-2014 comments about the Patriots “having a history of doing stuff” which certainly didn’t keep any Pats fans in his corner when he went back to the Jets, as if they needed any further motivation. And don’t forget about Revis’ mom getting turned away at the Patriots ring ceremony either.
Still, Belichick is always interested in special players even at the end of the line. As much as I think the probably pass on Revis this time around, you can never rule it out.
