What Darrelle Revis' Arrival at New York Jets Training Camp Means for Both Sides

Hold that holdout thought for another year. It looks like Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis is inclined to show up for camp whether he's happy with his contract or not.

The circumstances surrounding Revis' holdout were strange, to say the least. If Revis had held out, his four-year contract would have become a seven-year contract, with the final three years of that contract at $6 million per year.

Yet somehow, Revis came "close" to holding out, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.

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"I never said I was unhappy with my contract. I know what I signed a couple years ago. There were talks a couple years ago about a 'Band-Aid' and that was that. Now, we're here and we have to move forward."

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Revis was clearly unhappy about something, otherwise he wouldn't have come close to holding out, but the consequence of holding out far outweighed the benefit of doing so.

If he's unhappy over making just $13.5 million over the next two years, imagine how he'd feel about being locked into an unfavorable contract for three more years.

The possibility that Revis would hold out was exaggerated, but now that he's with the rest of the team in Cortland where he belongs, the Jets can finally move forward with training camp and the preseason.

Game Plan on Defense

It's not a stretch to label Revis the best defender in the division, so to say he's essential to the success of the team is a given as well.

The Jets' defensive game plan revolves around Revis locking down an opponent's best receiver. His presence is what allows Rex Ryan to get so creative with blitz packages. He's what allows the Jets secondary to focus on blanketing the other receivers. 

This gets even more important when you look at the Jets' defensive packages from last season. Mike Clay of Pro Football Focus breaks it down:

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They go with seven backs on 17 [percent] of their plays, which is 15 percentage points higher than the next closest team. In fact, of the 250 snaps where seven or more defensive backs were on the field across the entire NFL in 2011, the Jets were responsible for 169 (68 percent).

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When the Jets have seven defensive backs on the field, they are doing one of two things:

1. Sending their defensive backs on a blitz, or
2. Dropping all of them into coverage.

As discussed here on the blog in the recent past, it's usually the former. 

"The Jets blitzed defensive backs quite frequently last year. Specifically, Eric Smith blitzed on a shade under 8.0 percent of the snaps he played, Kyle Wilson blitzed 8.7 percent of the time and Donald Strickland went after the quarterback 15.2 percent of the time he was on the field. 

On that note, LaRon Landry should fit right in, blitzing at a 7.8 percent clip in 2011 and an 8.9 percent rate in 2010.

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Either way, Revis' impact on the set is unrivaled. He allows the blitz to be sent from his side of the field, or he allows the coverage to roll to other areas of the field where it may be needed more.

Game Plan for Contract

The Jets have escaped the 2012 offseason without extending Darrelle Revis, but they may not have a choice in 2013. According to Mehta, Revis said, "Something's got to happen sooner or later in terms of my future with the team."

He's right. He can't be franchise tagged after his deal expires, so if the team wants to avoid a bidding war for the best cornerback in the NFL, they need to get a deal done before he becomes a free agent.

They could potentially wait out the 2013 season, as well, and grant him a nice pay day just prior to him hitting free agency. That, however, would be a risky game to play. When it comes time to play contractual chicken with the best player on the roster, it's fair to ask whether the Jets would be wiser to soften their stance and come to the table earlier than later.

Aggravating the star cornerback might be a quick way to ensure Revis Island becomes a sovereign territory.

Revis may have fallen victim to the boo-boo of the "Band-Aid contract" this year, but sometime before the end of the 2013 season, whether that cut is healed or not, the Band-Aid needs to be replaced with a new one or else that cut in the Jets' defense could become infected with Gang Green.

Erik Frenz is the AFC East lead blogger for Bleacher Report. Be sure to follow Erik on Twitter and "like" the AFC East blog on Facebook to keep up with all the updates.