Darrelle Revis should consider situational role

Heading into his tenth season with the New York Jets, cornerback Darrelle Revis might not be the same elite player the football world has been used to seeing in 2016.

Due to his decline towards the end of last season, cornerback Darrelle Revis will need to take a step back and help develop the younger cornerbacks that are on the roster of the New York Jets. Early on his career, Revis was considered to be the best cornerback in the NFL for many years. His numbers early on in his career averaged about six interceptions and one touchdown as he also averaged 6.7 yards after the interception.

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When the 2012 season came around, there was a decline in his production as it took a huge drop with him averaging one interception and no touchdowns. He was still a big threat and opposing quarterbacks refused to throw to the side Revis was on. He still can be a game changer but he has suffered a lot of injuries and last season with the Jets proved that some of the younger wide receivers in the league were able to speed right past him to make big plays.

Revis will be facing much tougher receiving options this time around and unfortunately, he’s lost a bit of his speed to cover a lot of younger players. In 2015, he seemed to struggle as the season went on against the best receivers in the league. Revis never made excuses as he always played hard in every snap he was in and a vocal team leader with many players looking up to him but it was clear he was showing some signs of decline.

This offseason, the Jets might require him to do a lot more because of the departure of cornerback Antonio Cromartie. Due to this, Revis will more than likely be seeing even more snaps on the field but the Jets should consider splitting time with the other younger defensive backs on the team to alleviate the load.

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Revis has played a lot of snaps throughout his whole career and it is time for him to start taking a proactive approach to ensuring he can stay healthy all season long.

He will continue to be a veteran leader but the Jets should continue to start him while utilizing him in key situations.

Revis isn’t going to be the player we once knew early on in his career.

He will need to try to adjust his game in order for teams to fear them like they have always been.

Which means Revis will need to be the leader in the locker room and continuing to develop the younger players around him to spell relief for him.

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Overall, Revis realistically still has a lot to offer but the Jets need to give him the support he needs when facing elite receiving options and know when to not burden him with single coverage assignments that he won’t be able to keep up with. As he approaches the final few years of his prolific and future Pro Football Hall of Fame career, he needs to be smart and realize that he might need to switch to a more situational role than be an every down starter with the Jets.