The up-and-down -- and mostly down -- play of Darrelle Revis has been one of the season's more depressing narratives, but Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan says he's satisfied with the cornerback.
"I'm happy with his effort," Maccagnan said, per Ralph Vacchiano of SportsNet New York. "I'm sure there's plays he'd like to have back, but you watch a lot of other plays where he does give effort."
That's a generous review of Revis, who has struggled this season and didn't hide the reason why, saying earlier this week: "Because I'm old."
It was just last month when Revis told beat writers: "I'm breaking down. I'm 31. How many corners are 31 right now in the league?"
The honesty is appreciated, but it's not what the Jets expected when they reunited with Revis on a five-year, $70.1 million deal with a heady $39 million guaranteed.
Toting a team-high cap figure of $17 million this season, Revis was beaten by Kenny Britt on Sunday after getting worked over this season by the likes of Marquise Goodwin and Terrelle Pryor, among others.
"We're happy with how Darrelle is performing," Maccagnan said, refusing to suggest that Revis' mega-contract sits out there as an expensive mistake.
"No, when we signed Darrelle we were very happy based on where he was playing at, what he was doing," Maccagnan said. "I think Darrelle, I'm sure he would say this himself, there's certain plays he'd like to have back. But we still think Darrelle is a good football player. We think Darrelle can help us potentially win. He has brought quite a bit this year in particular to the locker room in terms of leadership and kind of a veteran presence."
It's time for New York to give Revis a chance at safety. If he can't perform as a backstop for Gang Green, the next decision could be a difficult and painful one for the organization -- and for Jets fans who believed Revis would return as some sort of shining savior.
