Rex Ryan has just announced the bad news that many thought was coming after Darrelle Revis went down in the third quarter of Sunday's win at Miami: Revis has suffered "a significant knee injury," an ACL tear in his left knee, that will require surgery and will keep him out of action for a significant time.
"It's just disappointing," Ryan said of Revis' injury. "This guy wants to win. As great a player as Darrelle is individually, this guy is a great teammate and he wants to win, he wants his team to win. I think that's why he's so excited about this year, because he knows we're a better team this year than last year. Every person in this building is committed to that, we see it going in that direction, but now he gets this injury and won't be able to help us."
Speculation is that Revis will miss the rest of the season. The Jets head coach wouldn't say how long Revis will be out, saying he wants to speak with his player before announcing the prognosis. He said the surgery is something that seven players on the Jets have undergone and have come back from, including fellow cornerback Antonio Cromartie.
"This is a guy that's as competitive as it gets," Ryan said, adding that the surgery will be scheduled in the next several weeks. "I don't think there's any doubt he's going to come back strong from it. Before we do anything, I want to talk to Darrelle."
Revis suffered his non-contact injury on the Sun Life Stadium grass field that occurred with about four minutes left in the third quarter, during a Dolphins pass play from Ryan Tannehill to RB Daniel Thomas.
"You could tell, when Darrelle lifted his leg, when the injury took place," Ryan said. "The center from Miami [Mike Pouncey] cut him but that wasn't a factor in the injury."
Now the challenge is how to get his team focused on moving forward into the rest of the season without No. 24 on the field. He said Kyle Wilson, the Jets' first-round draft choice in 2010, will step into the starting lineup.
"We're fortunate because most teams only have one No. 1 corner, or some don't even have any. We're fortunate to have the best in the league in Darrelle and we also have a No. 1 corner in Cromartie," the head coach said. "We drafted Kyle Wilson to basically be a No. 2 corner and that's where he's going to play. And we have two tough, young players in Isaiah Trufant and Ellis Lankster who are going to have to step it up."
As for how his defense and his team will handle the loss of Revis, Ryan said:
"This is a team game. Our guys, I think we'll respond. We'll certainly have to accept the challenge. We're going to come out and compete. We might do it a little differently, but we'll certainly give it our best shot, without question.
"Is it a major blow when you lose a great player like Darrelle Revis? Of course, absolutely it is. But this is a football team. I think we showed it yesterday. There were plenty of times to get down in that game, but we kept fighting, believing in each other. That's what it's going to take, from everybody we have."
Ryan said several roster changes could be in store due to the injury. DT Marcus Dixon, he said, has been released. He declined to comment about re-signing LB Bryan Thomas, who was released Saturday.
"We're going to look for anything we think can help our team," he said.
