When Woody Johnson and John Idzik traded Darrelle Revis to the Bucs on April 21, 2013, for first-round and fourth-round picks, Revis took to Twitter to say au revoir, but not goodbye:
“I been sitting around for the last hour trying to figure out what to say to the Jet Nation & I came up with this,” Revis wrote. “The six years I played for the New York Jets were unbelievable. I put my body on the line everyday & did everything could to help the team win.
“I experienced a lot & learned a lot. The memories I had in New York I will keep dearly to my heart. I want to thank all the jets fans for making me feel welcome.”
From Revis’ Twitter feed Tuesday night:
NEW YORK I’m coming home. #revisisland #jetnation
Gabe Kotter has nothing on Darrelle Revis today:
Who’d have thought they’d lead ya
Back here where we need ya
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.
Revis Island comes back to the place he never wanted to leave, comes back with a glistening Super Bowl ring on his finger, comes back to a rookie head coach and rookie GM who don’t plan on kissing Bill Belichick’s rings any more than Rex Ryan did.
He comes back to a historic five-year deal worth an average of $16 million per for the first three years and $39 million guaranteed — the richest cornerback contract in NFL history.
Back to Reunion Island.
Back as the biggest star on a New York stage starving for stars. Back to cover Odell Beckham Jr. in the Snoopy Bowl.
But back a year too late for Rex Ryan.
Better late than never.
Back to an owner who needed to light a fire under his franchise and fan base, who reopened the door he once closed on Revis following his devastating ACL surgery … no hard feelings, it’s a business, and all that.
What Johnson and rookie GM Mike Maccagnan did Tuesday night was close the gap on the Patriots.
Game on.
It doesn’t make the Jets a Super Bowl contender, no. Not until they find themselves a quarterback.
But it sure makes them relevant.
It kills two birds with one stone because it degrades — and deflates — the Patriots in a way that gives the rest of the AFC East hope for a change.
It gives blitz-crazed Todd Bowles the makings of a dominant defense with Revis Island a no-fly zone opposite Dee Milliner or Buster Skrine or another corner to be named later working behind Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson and David Harris.
Revis on Free Agent Frenzy Tuesday — Jimmy Graham to the Seahawks, Sam Bradford for Nick Foles, Haloti Ngata to the Lions — gets this rare chance to let Jets fans make him feel welcome again.
It was good to be Darrelle Revis on the afternoon when he became Freevis and listened and watched two bitter rival franchises bidding frantically for his Pro Bowl services, with a seismic shift in the balance of power in the AFC East in the balance.
Revis made $55 million in his first go-round as a Jet, then $16 million in his one season in Tampa, then $12 million in 2014 with the Patriots.
And now, the key to the vault from Johnson.
When most NFL players reach the age of 30 — Justin Tuck or Antrel Rolle, for example — they are held hostage by a system that almost always chews grizzled vets up and spits them out.
Revis? He holds franchises hostage.
Revis has been the football Trump, mastering the art of the deal through the course of his career like no other in the game.
Andy Pettitte was 34 when he came back home to the Yankees in 2007 after three years in Houston, and won his fifth World Series ring in 2009. Tom Seaver was 38 when he came back home to the Mets in 1983 for one season after five years in Cincinnati. Mark Messier was 39 when he came back to the Rangers for the 2000-01 season after three years in Vancouver. Bernard King was 35 when he came back to the Nets for the 1992-93 season 15 years after they drafted him.
Yes, Darrelle, you can go home again.
And a long-suffering franchise and its fans will be waiting for you with open arms.