Darrelle Revis’ holdout this summer comes as no surprise to former New York Jets running back Leon Washington, who is currently with Pete Carrol and the Seattle Seahawks. Just one year ago, Washington and the Jets had a similar problem with contract negotiations, and it eventually led to his departure from Gang Green. Because Washington had experience with this, he felt that he should warn his former buddy Revis, so that the same issues wouldn’t happen with him.
Prior to last season, Washington was not able to work out the deal he had hoped to with the Jets. And as fate would have it, Washington got injured in week 6 against the Oakland Raiders. That is exactly why Washington wanted to restructure his contract before the season started. Had Washington and the Jets come to an agreement prior to the season, the injury would not have hurt him financially because he would have already been under contract. But since that wasn’t so, the injury devalued Washington, and he was stuck trying to find a new contract with a new team. This, essentially, is what Revis is trying to prevent by holding out this summer.
As everybody knows, especially Rex Ryan, Darrelle Revis had a superb run last season, and he was arguably the best defensive player in the entire NFL. Unfortunately for Revis, that hasn’t increased his bank account just yet.
What if Revis’ playing ability goes down a notch or two this season? What if Revis gets injured? Should he not get paid now for the amazing production he had last season as the league’s top defender?
To me, this shows a terrible job by the Jets’ front office. You have a guy in Revis who put up a spectacular season last year, and you are not willing to pay him what he is worth? If I didn’t know better, it sounds as if the Jets are waiting for Revis to decline or get injured so that they won’t have to pay him so much for his services. Of course, from a business sense, that’s an approach. But if players around the league see that you’re treating your players like this, and you are trying to get the most out of your guys without giving them what they’re worth, then nobody is going to want to play for the New York Jets.
From a very young age, most football players learn that if you play well, it will pay off in the end. However, when you see the way that the people in the Jets’ front office deals with their players, you see that they don’t subscribe to that way of thinking. Rather, the people in the Jets’ front office believes in stealing money from their players who deserve to be paid like true professionals. That, right there, is the reason why the Jets will not the Super Bowl this season, and it is the reason why they will continue to fall short as a franchise for many years. Sure the team is oozing with talent, but talent alone cannot win you championships. It starts from the bottom up, and if your base is not strong, everything else will collapse around it.
If I were Darrelle Revis, I would learn from Leon Washington and get the heck out of New York before it’s too late. Right now is his time to cash in, and he better do it before the window of opportunity closes.
Filed under: New York Jets, NFL Tagged: | Darrelle Revis, Leon Washington, New York Jets, Pete Carrol, Rex Ryan, Seattle Seahawks
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