The updates are becoming less ‘update’ and more ‘speculation’, but in the interest of staying on top of this story, I bring you the most recent update in the Darrelle Revis holdout via AOL FanHouse.
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.
It would certainly be ideal for Revis to sign before the regular season opener, but at what cost?
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.
As has been par for the course, even though it seems the deal is closer than it has been all season, it could still be a long way off.
“There are a lot of different possibilities still in play,” the source said of the likely final structure of the deal.