GM’S chance To finally draft own plan
Jets rookie general manager John Idzik finally has final say for the first time in his 22 years in NFL front offices with four teams. Now all he has to do in the next seven days is decide whether the Bucs have offered enough for him to trade Darrelle Revis, one of the five best players in franchise history, and then turn the draft picks into a gold mine to restock the roster.
It’s an easy call as far as I’m concerned. Keep Revis, then sign him to a new long-term deal after seeing how far along he is in training camp, by using one very important piece of leverage: Does Revis, coming off an ACL injury, want to play this season for $6 million (his base salary is $3 million plus another $3 million in bonuses he can earn before the season opener), risk tearing his ACL again and then watch the 2014 free agent market disappear before he gets a chance to cash in? Idzik said nothing i n his predraft news conference Wednesday that would indicate Revis will still be with the Jets when it comes time for the Bucs to make the 13th pick of the draft, which kicks off on Thursday.
“We will definitely look at any trade possibilities and see if it benefits the Jets,” he said.
When he was asked if Revis will be on the roster this season, he said, “I don’t like looking too far ahead.”
The Bucs are offering their No. 1 pick, 13th overall, in next week’s draft, as the primary compensation along with lower-round picks, but with no other team interested at the moment, they are bidding against themselves. If that’s the deal Idzik pulls off, then the Jets will have the ninth and 13th picks in a draft whose strength and value is considered from the middle of the first round through the second round.
If Idzik stays put with the two first-round picks, he can hope that Alabama’s Dee Milliner slips to No. 9 and immediately steps in for Revis and then perhaps finds firepower for the offense by taking West Virginia’s smallish but dynamic receiver Tavon Austin at No. 13.
Or, with the Jets having so many needs, he can attempt to move down in the first round with one or both of the No. 1 picks and trade for additional selections in the second and third round to replenish a roster that is already down 12 starters.
Of course, if Idzik trades Revis, he better not blow the picks.
Idzik is deliberate. He’s stubborn. He also has a reputation for being very smart.
But this is also the first time he is making football personnel decisions. He stressed how this will be a group decision, but is that a good thing? That is how the Jets operated with Mike Tannenbaum, more of a money guy than a personnel guy. But by hiring Idzik, whose primary responsibility has been the salary cap, Jets owner Woody Johnson didn’t change the structure of the organization.
“John has been in the league a long time,” one NFL source said Wednesday. “He’s been to three places (Tampa, Arizona, Seattle) and he’s worked with great people. He’s worked his butt off. He’s exceptionally bright. The biggest challenge is evaluating the evaluators and who he is choosing to listen to. He doesn’t have the experience to watch tape and override somebody right now.”
Idzik’s decision on Revis will help shape the Jets’ immediate future, and the result will be a direct reflection on Idzik.
“I don’t look at it like that,” he said. “I never look at it as I’m being viewed. That doesn’t enter my mind. It’s really all about the Jets and any decision we make, especially those of a very high magnitude, we’re going to put a lot of thought into it.”
In the end, Idzik has to decide what is right. That is why Johnson hired him. This must be his call, not the call of his lieutenants.
“Yes, I turn the card in,” he said. “That is different.”
It would be no problem if Idzik’s toughest decision since taking over for Tannenbaum was deciding to cut Bart Scott. But Tannenbaum threw a doozy in his lap: The best defensive player in NFL, one who wants to be paid $16 million per year is coming off a severe knee injury, is going into the he final year of his deal, and a clause se in his contract prohibits the Jets s from using the franchise tag on him. m.
Idzik has been negotiating with Bucs GM Mark Dominik. They worked together in Tampa from 1995-2001 but apparently were not best buddies. That should not impact their ability to get the deal done. One source said Wednesday the Bucs’ interest is driven by Dave Wannstedt, a Tampa assistant coach, who was s Revis’ coach at Pitt.
Wannstedt and Bucs coach Greg Schiano are tight – Wannstedt once hired Schiano on his staff in Chicago and Schiano returned the favor by making Wannstedt his special teams coach after he was fired as defensive coordinator ordinator by the Bills when head coach Chan Gailey was fired after last season.
The Bucs are the only team pushing for Revis. is Idzik can only hope another team steps up in the next few days so he can leverage it against the Bucs as he’s about to make a franchise-defining decision.