The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded for Darrelle Revis with the belief that the All-Pro cornerback would be every bit the player he was before tearing up his knee with the New York Jets last season.
Revis recently told Peter King of TheMMQB.com that he's highly confident he'll be ready for the regular-season opener and doesn't expect the knee to cause him trouble as the campaign wears on.
"I'm very confident. Very," Revis said. "My mindset is, when they tell me I could cut, I figured it meant I could cut hard on it. I did, and it didn't hurt and the knee didn't swell. And I've been out there putting pressure on it and it hasn't hurt. So I feel when I get out there, I'll be confident I can do everything I need to."
King reported that Revis has experienced no setbacks and the knee has "responded well to his testing, torquing and quick-twitch movements."
Coach Greg Schiano hasn't made up his mind about playing Revis in a preseason game, but he told King that, come the regular season, the shutdown corner won't be used gingerly. Schiano spoke of a return to "Revis Island," with Darrelle going head-to-head with the best receiver on the field.
"Coach and I have talked about it," Revis said, "and he's open to it. It'll be predicated on the game plan. But I think you'll see it a lot. I might have to dust the cobwebs off, but it's the way I play best. I've said, 'Coach, this is the way I play best,' and I think he agrees."
NFL Network's Rich Hollenberg reported that Revis participated in 11-on-11 walkthroughs Monday. When Revis lined up across from receiver Vincent Jackson, it drew the "hugest applause from the crowd ... they were chanting his name."
The next step for Revis is 7-on-7s, but "he's making the progress that they expected him to make," general manager Mark Dominik told Hollenberg. His return in time for the regular season would, of course, set up a juicy matchup in Week 1, with Revis squaring off against Rex Ryan and the New York Jets for all the marbles. Sign us up.
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