Darelle Revis wouldn’t mind being the second-best cornerback on the Jets.
The All-Pro said Wednesday he fully backs the team’s pursuit of free agent Nnamdi Asomugha and hopes the former Raiders star gets all the money he can.
“He’s the best cornerback in the league,” Revis said of Asomugha, uttering a compliment usually directed at him. “Me and him as a tandem would be unbelievable. It’d be awesome, so I would love to have him as a teammate.”
The Jets could lose free agent Antonio Cromartie and reportedly are willing to pay Asomugha $12 million a season.
“One thing is we all know this is a business. Before Nnamdi we wanted Antonio Cromartie back,” Revis said in a transcript provided by the team. “We can’t leave him out. He has been a part of this team and he knows our defense with the course we are going on right now, and the focus is Nnamdi Asomugha.”
The duo hatched the idea of playing together when both were AFC team members at the 2010 Pro Bowl. Asomugha opted out of his Raiders contract after reaching incentives last season.
“We always speak as friends. We even spoke about it at the Pro Bowl, about playing on the same team, and now we’re here,” Revis said. “There’s nothing to really talk about furthermore with trying to recruit him, because I try to keep our friendship where it needs to be. He knows where he wants to play and what best fits him, and what he wants to do with his career.”
Revis held out almost all of last year’s training camp before agreeing to a contract worth $46 million over four years. He said the Jets have not asked him to rework that deal to free salary-cap space.
Last May, prior to his holdout, Revis said he, coach Rex Ryan and GM Mike Tannenbuam all agreed he should be the NFL’s highest-paid corner.
“I’m not angry at what anybody gets. That’s their situation,” Revis said Wednesday. “You perform on the field to get what you deserve, and Nnamdi is deserving of getting the top dollars, which he has to do. My thing is, I hope we get him.”
Revis also said he would welcome wide receiver Randy Moss, with whom he engaged in trash-talk when Moss was with the Patriots.
“Randy, you respect a guy like that. Me and him both know that sticks and stones may break my bones but words never hurt you,” Revis said. “That’s just the competition and level of play we try to bring out in each other. That’s what it always did.
“I don’t think it’s really too personal. I would love to have him, if we were to go get him. The guy can still play; he can still catch the ball and is a big, fast guy.”
The Jets on Wednesday re-signed wide receiver Santonio Holmes for five years and a reported amount of $50 million, and agreed to terms with kicker Nick Folk.
With AP; New York Jets
