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New England Patriots Should Not Break The Bank To Re-Sign Darrelle Revis

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By @petahrahgas

New England Patriots

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

I know that this idea may be above any level of blasphemy recorded on this green Earth. I know that if I were near a bottomless pit in the middle of a Spartan city, I’d be kicked down it to spend eternity falling in inky blackness. I know that soon the wrath of a million angry Massholes will come pouring into my Twitter feed, exclaiming that Darrelle Revis is a must keep and that the New England Patriots should do whatever is humanly within their power to keep the cornerback in Foxborough. I know all of this. And to a certain degree, I agree with it.

The addition of Revis is what made this defense so good this season. He let Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia do really whatever they wanted because they knew Revis would lock down his man. And he did. I don’t think I’d go so far as to say Revis was single-handedly the reason why the Patriots made it to and then won the Super Bowl — that still falls upon the husky shoulders of Tom Brady — but I’d call Revis hand No. 2.

It seems like common sense that someone so instrumental in the Patriots’ success this season should be the team’s No. 1 priority in free agency. But should he be?

Revis didn’t hide the fact that he came to the Patriots to win a Super Bowl last offseason. He took less money to come to New England because he knew it was his best chance to finally get his hands on the Lombardi Trophy. And now he’s done that. What’s to stop him from leaving for just some ridiculous amount of money a cornerback starving team (say the New York Jets) offers him? Nothing.

I made this mistake last offseason, focusing all my fandom on the (admittedly now silly) notion that the Patriots had to do whatever it took to keep cornerback Aqib Talib. Obviously that didn’t happen. The Denver Broncos decided to throw money around like Eli Manning throws footballs — for those wondering, it’s with reckless abandonment — and signed Talib to a six-year, $57 million contract. I can now safely say that Talib’s contract is horrible, and I am glad the Patriots didn’t sign him purely based on those numbers and ignoring the undeniable fact that it allowed the Pats to get Revis.

The Patriots will obviously try to re-sign Revis — both sides have expressed interest in keeping the marriage together — but the Pats are notorious for not getting sentimental with players on the team (examples: Logan Mankins, Richard Seymour, Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork etc.). So if the price gets too high, they could very quickly move on. For Patriots fans sitting at home, if this happens, it won’t signal the great collapse of Patriots Place.

Revis is getting older — he’ll turn 30 this year — and the Patriots have a fair bit of young talent already at the corner position. Yes both Alfonzo Dennard and Logan Ryan seemingly had off years, but what’s to say they don’t return to their former glory? The Patriots still have Brandon Browner locked up and of course there’s that Malcolm Butler guy who I’ve heard is good. The Patriots also have a bigger need (at least in my mind) in locking up free safety Devin McCourty long-term.

At the end of the day, what this all boils down to is that the Patriots don’t need to re-sign Revis. I clearly think they should try their very darnedest to bring back the best cornerback in the game right now, but if Revis decides to leave for greener pastures (green being the color of the Jets), it’s not the end of the world in Foxborough.

Peter Rogers is a featured NFL writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @petahrahgas, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google

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