The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wouldn't trade a first-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft for a guy coming off a torn anterior cruciate ligament unless they were convinced he's a special talent. They wouldn't have given up $16 million per season unless they thought Darrelle Revis held a special place in the NFL.
Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik described Revis as the "premier defensive player in the league" during the cornerback's introductory news conference Monday. We'd take the Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller or Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt over a cornerback coming off a serious injury, but Revis certainly makes the Bucs a whole lot more interesting.
"We're going to make a lot of noise; don't worry about that. ... It was a great move on my part to be a part of this organization," Revis said.
Revis expressed his excitement over joining a playoff-caliber team. And he was happy to feel wanted again.
"It feels like that team is giving up on you," Revis said in reference to his trade talks with the New York Jets.
Everything about the Revis trade was different. Dominik noted that it offered a "rare and unique" chance to get a player of Revis' caliber in a trade. Revis admitted his contract was "unique" because of the lack of guaranteed money. Dominik didn't sound concerned about Revis' health.
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Jets fans might get upset seeing Darrelle Revis on the Bucs, but Jeff Darlington says this was the right move for everyone. **More ...**
"This is a known commodity that we strongly believe in and that's why we pulled the trigger," Dominik said.
Revis really didn't want to talk about his injury or the Jets, and he steered the conversation to the near future.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
