FLORHAM PARK, N.J.-- Darrelle Revis insists he's not angry or bitter. He just wants to be paid -- soon.
The New York Jets' All-Pro cornerback said Thursday that he will attend the team's mandatory minicamp next week despite his frustration over the slow nature of his contract negotiations.
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"It's different sides agreeing and disagreeing on different things," Revis said. "This is the process right now, and it's going to continue to keep on going until both sides agree. Right now, I'm just being patient. I'm not mad about anything. I'm here. I want to be here, they know that. And, I know they want me to be here.
Revis also still wants to be the highest-paid player at his position, saying "it's important" to him. He also said the Jets' second offer was better than their first, but it still was subpar.
"The season I had last year was crazy, so this is a lot of leverage that I do have right now to try to get to that second contract and get the money that you deserve," Revis said. "I don't know how long I'm going to play."
Revis, a two-time Pro Bowl selection and runner-up for the 2009 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, sat out a voluntary workout last week, but he returned for both practices this week.
"Minicamp is coming up next week and I'll be at minicamp, and no comment on training camp," Revis said. "I don't know. We'll see when that day comes."
Revis is due to make to make just $1 million in the fourth season of his six-year rookie deal. Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha is the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL after signing a three-year, $45.3 million extension last offseason.
Revis bristled a bit when a reporter suggested he consider the current economic climate when asking for such a large contract.
"That has nothing to do with football right now," Revis said. "You're talking about a whole different subject. We know the economy's bad, we know all of that. The Raiders didn't think that about Nnamdi."
The Jets can buy back the final two years of Revis' contract, which would be worth $20 million guaranteed. But Revis could lose it all if he misses any of the mandatory practices.
"That's something that me and my team have to talk to about," he said, "about letting that money go and fighting for something bigger or playing it safe and going to training camp."
Revis still hopes something can be done by training camp.
"If it don't, then there's going to be other changes," he said.
Meanwhile, All-Pro center Nick Mangold is "displeased" with how his negotiations are going, and he's unsure if he'll sit out minicamp as a result, saying the chances are "50-50."
"I'm not Darrelle-infuriated," Mangold said. "It's something where you hear enough, 'Hey, we want to sign all these people,' and at some point, it's like, 'Well, why aren't we signing all of these people?' It's still June, so there's still time."
Mangold is entering the final season of a five-year deal, but he said there haven't been hard negotiations between his agent and the team.
"At this point, if you would've said in February, 'Hey, what would your feelings be if ...,' well I would've thought something would be done by now," Mangold said. "The sand is starting to drop a little quicker now."
Mangold said he'll see what happens, if anything, as far as negotiations over the weekend before deciding whether to attend minicamp, which begins Monday.
"It's one of those things where you just see what's given to you and play it by ear," he said. "It's kind of like Scrabble where you can plan all you want, but you have to wait to see what letters are given to you. Until you know those letters, it's pointless."
Mangold said he hasn't tired -- yet -- of the weekly updates regarding his status.
"It's the same questions I ask myself, but at least this time, I get to talk to somebody other than my agents," Mangold said. "It's a pain in my butt that I don't want to deal with, but I'm forced into it."
Besides Revis and Mangold, linebacker David Harris and left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson are in line for long-term deals. The Jets have made re-signing all four players a priority and are believed to have even set aside room in their budget to do so. But the uncertainty of the collective bargaining agreement has them hamstrung, to an extent.
"The Jets need to pay their guys," Revis said. "I mean, there's a lot of us on the line."
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
