Patriots: Revisiting when NE stole Darrelle Revis and got revenge on Jets

Revisiting when the Patriots nabbed CB Darrelle Revis in 2014.

It goes without saying that the New England Patriots normally refrain from spending top dollar in free agency. Amazingly enough, they avoided doing just that when they signed cornerback Darrelle Revis right at the start of the NFL offseason in 2014.

Of course, the perennial Pro Bowler — who was still clearly the best player at his position at the time of the deal — was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after they were unable to free themselves of his $16 million salary via trade.

A reunion with the New York Jets, where he spent the first six seasons of his career and established the nickname “Revis Island” for his lockdown coverage, was reported to be in the works. However, New England acted quickly and signed him just hours after he was dumped by the Bucs.

The Patriots making an absolute mockery out of the Jets? Sounds familiar!

What really made signing Revis a brilliant move for New England was the particulars of his contract.

In the books, the former No. 14 overall pick agreed to a two-year, $32 million deal. However, it really amounted to a one-year contract as the Patriots unsurprisingly opted against picking up his $20 million option in 2015.

Fans in New England weren’t complaining, though.

Revis was named an All-Pro in his lone season with the franchise and ultimately helped them capture their fourth Super Bowl. In 16 games, the Pittsburgh product logged 47 tackles, 14 passes defended and two interceptions. Those stats obviously don’t jump off the screen, but that’s simply because he was THAT dominant in coverage.

An All-Pro campaign and a Super Bowl ring for $12 million? While depriving the Jets of a reunion they were clamoring for? We’re not sure how many more examples are out there that prove the Patriots are always two and three steps ahead of the rest of the NFL, but you can go right ahead and add the Revis signing to the list.