Darrelle Revis to Be Released by Jets

The New York Jets informed cornerback Darrelle Revis on Tuesday he will be released, per Eric Allen of the team's official site.

"Darrelle is the consummate professional and one of the greatest to ever play the cornerback position," head coach Todd Bowles said.

Revis posted a farewell message to Twitter:

According to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, the decision was based purely on football and had nothing to do with his recent arrest.

His release doesn't come as a surprise. For one, the 31-year-old saw his play decline in 2016 and was ranked as Pro Football Focus' 64th-best cornerback, via Peter King of The MMQB. NFL front offices took notice, including one anonymous personnel man who spoke with King:

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People are going to look at his tape from last year. He looked heavy-legged and not the same competitive Revis for much of the year. Plus his age. And there's going to be the question of motivation. Is he going to be motivated to come back—for a lot less money than he's made in the past few years—and rebound and have a great season? And will he do what he has to do if some team wants to move him to safety? There's a lot there to consider.

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Had the Jets retained him, they would have owed him a $2 million roster bonus if he was still on the team by March 10, per Darryl Slater of NJ.com, and he would have counted $15.3 million against the cap in 2017, per Spotrac.com. That's a steep price for a player who appears to be on the downside of his career.

Complicating things for both the Jets and now for any teams interested in signing him in free agency is Revis' pending legal issues stemming from an alleged fight in Pittsburgh in February. Revis is facing four felony charges, though conflicting accounts of that night have called into question if Revis had any involvement at all.

Regardless of any legal issues, however, Revis' value has declined given his play over the past two years. As a free agent, he can expect to take a major pay cut.

"I'd say $7 million a year," the personnel man told King, talking about Revis' likely value on a new contract. "Short term. Not much guaranteed. He's coming off a year when he didn't play well. He's trending downward."