Darrelle Revis makes the tackle against Nebraska
Transcripts of remarks made by CB Darrelle Revis and general manager Mike Tannenbaum after Revis signed his contract at the Jets' training complex Wednesday evening:
DARRELLE REVIS
On how difficult it was to miss the first two weeks of camp …
It was tough. Being the competitive football player I am, I didn't want to sit there and see my teammates playing. I was frustrated for a while but I just looked at the positive side and let my agents handle it.
On the negotiation process …
I thought I was going to get the contract earlier today, but it didn't go that way. I just had to wait and be patient about the situation.
On how quickly he can catch up with the team …
I'm still learning. I'm still young and I'm still a rookie. I'm not a veteran in this game. I still have a lot of work to do. I'm going to keep working hard and do what the coaches tell me to do.
On what he's been doing the last couple of weeks …
Working out in Phoenix, Ariz., at Jeff Fisher Sports.
On how he felt about Eric Mangini's comments about him not being at camp …
I don't read the papers. That's something I don't do, even with my own comments in any newspaper. You hear things. I have friends and people close to me telling me things, but I just look at it in a positive way. I wasn't here. You have to do what you have to do when someone is not here. [Now that] I'm on the team and [will] contribute to the team, we're a team.
On if he's expecting to play on Friday against the Vikings …
That's up to Coach Mangini.
On if he's talked to Coach Mangini yet …
No.
On if he thought the deal wouldn't go through …
Being here for so long, you think it's never going to end. We are glad to get this process done and over with. I'm happy, the Jets are happy. Right now it's one big family and we're in it together.
On if he's taken the conditioning test …
I already took it this morning.
On his feelings and approach toward practicing with the team …
I'm excited to be in the NFL. It's a dream come true. I've been fighting for this job my whole life. Now it's here and I just have to take steps now; one step at a time and do what I can. My Uncle Sean [Gilbert] told me not to go overboard or push it and don't put pressure on myself. Go out and relax. I know how to play football. He said, "Do you know how to play football?" and I said yes. He said, "Then go out there and play football." That's what I'm going to do, what the coaches tell me to do, and play football.
On if he communicated with his teammates …
They are my teammates. I talk to a lot of guys on the team and I was seeing how they were doing in camp and what was going on.
On getting up to speed and his being a quick study …
As of right now, I can only do so much. Right now it's to come in here and learn, learn from the coaches, learn from the veteran players. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to come in here and learn. The veterans told me it's going to be a long season and they are going to help me throughout the year and keep me on the right page. So that's what I'm going to do.
MIKE TANNENBAUM
I just want to again publicly acknowledge the staff. Ari [Nissim, director/football administration] and Jackie [Jacqueline Davidson, manager/football administration].
We've reached an agreement. It was close to midnight last night or whatever time it was, we finally reached an agreement in principle. We spent the better part of today just working through the nuances and the technicalities of a very complicated contract. That's why Darrelle wasn't able to practice. We were just working through the process for the better part of the day into the night. It was just a long time throughout the day to get this to where we wanted it to be, but we're glad it's over. We are excited to put Darrelle on the field. We traded up for him, we think he is a talented player and he is going to come in and help us this year and for many years to come, hopefully. I know he will get coached well and he'll develop here, and that started with his playbook tonight and meetings. He'll start practicing with the team tomorrow.
On whether Revis is with the team ...
He is with the team. He has his playbook, he has been with the coaches tonight and he's part of the team.
On whether Revis will play Friday night ...
He'll play when Eric [Mangini] feels he's ready. That will be a coaching decision. I know he is going to get coached well and he's swimming with the playbook right now. He has some catching up to do right now but obviously all the traits that attracted us to him to trade up for are there. He is going to work hard and try to put himself in the best position as quickly as possible.
On reaching an agreement …
I knew the landing spot on this deal was really small, but I was resolute in the fact that there was a landing spot that was good for Darrelle and good for the Jets. I am just happy we found a spot. In some deals, it's easy to find that landing spot. This deal was obviously hard to find, but we knew it was there. Part of it is the system, the complexities of the system over the last few years. We are sitting here with a 47-page document. All these deals are complicated and it seems like each year they get more complicated, not less complicated.
On if a lot of time today was spent talking to the NFL Management Council …
[We spent] a lot of time with the management council. Neil [Schwartz] was doing his job, his due diligence with the union, so we were going back and forth on a lot of ancillary issues. Some were more significant than others, but there were a number of issues, complicated issues that we had to work through for most of the day.
On whether the agreement is a six-year deal …
I am not going to discuss the length except to say it is 47 pages. I think it's a fair contract, I think it's good for both sides. We expect Darrelle to be here for a number of years. We're glad the contract is behind us and we are looking forward to seeing him out on the field.
On how complicated the deal was …
This was extraordinarily complicated. I am not proud of that. That's where the system is at. Doing rookie contracts is very difficult because all of these backsides in contracts are very subjective and it's very hard to value what they're worth. That is not indigenous to Darrelle Revis. It's Bryan Thomas, it's Santana Moss, it's Dewayne Robertson or it's D'Brickashaw Ferguson. You're sitting there and two reasonable people are trying to read 40 and 50 pages of backsides and we're trying to assess what the numbers are that we should be working off of, so just the debate is challenging.
I really give a lot of credit to Neil because he's really prepared. Compared to other agents I've dealt with, he is as prepared as I have ever seen. He is meticulous and he works very hard on behalf of his client. He had a wealth of information and I felt like we had a wealth of information. I always looked at it the entire time that we were on the same side of the table trying to figure out a way we could engineer this thing that could work for everybody.
On when the talks began to heat up …
They have really been ongoing. I said every day we did not get this guy signed that I wanted one new idea from everybody and then I said to Ari that I wanted the three best ideas. I kept challenging them with what could we do, what could we give them that they need and what do we want? It was really more of an ongoing process in trying to be a good listener and understand what they want. Eric was in the loop, he knew what was going on. Woody [Johnson] and Jay [Cross] knew. It was just trying to engineer a landing spot. It was really difficult, but again it was just through hard work and creativity. The staff and Neil did an incredible job. It was a collaborative effort.
On whether the landing spot came from the Jets' side or Neil Schwartz …
Like they say in the draft room, success has many fathers. When a lower-round draft pick works out, every scout takes credit for that [smiles]. It was a team effort. With 47 pages, there is enough credit to go around to everybody. It was just give-and-take. Neil and [agent] Jonathan Feinsod brought great ideas to the table as well. It was a collaborative effort.
On whether this is the lengthiest contract he's been a part of …
I was thinking about that and it could be because you are addressing so many different rookie pool issues and different hypotheticals. Eighty percent of them will never occur because if things happen one time they don't have to happen again and a lot of triggers are based off of that. That is not Darrelle. That is just the system with rookie contracts. It's how complicated they have gotten since [Drew] Bledsoe's deal in 1993 and then what [Rick] Mirer did off of that. They were 1-2 in 1993 and things have really spiraled from there. [Rookie contracts] are long, big and hard to value.
On whether the contracts signed by 13th pick Adam Carriker with St. Louis and No. 15 Lawrence Timmons with Pittsburgh had any affect on the Revis deal …
Those are always part of the process. You always have to look at the marketplace and we were trying to be representative of the marketplace and come up with something that was good for Darrelle and good for us. I'm just happy we are there and it is behind us now.
On what the sticking point in the negotiations was …
We were doing what was best for the Jets and coming up with a fair deal for Darrelle as well. I'm excited to tell you in all sincerity and in good faith that I really think this deal is good for both sides and they'll agree. That is hard to do in any year, but we got there. It took longer than we hoped or would want. And that's the important thing, for somebody that we traded for to go out there and start working with his teammates, get coached and get developed and hopefully contribute to the organization for not only this year but for years to come.
On whether the negotiations were held up by the number of years on the contract …
Not even focusing on length here, it is more of a philosophy to plan. This was not a one-issue deal. I don't think I have ever done a deal that is one issue because one issue is easy to resolve. This was complicated. I thought there were a number of issues that needed to be resolved. We are always trying to plan. We are always trying to be proactive, not only for this year but for years to come. Our job was to come up with something that was good for both sides, and unfortunately it took a little bit longer than we had hoped, but they did a great job and my staff did an incredible job.
