Early in the 2015 league year the Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly inquired about then-free agent veteran cornerback Darrelle Revis after the New England Patriots declined to pick up his $20 million option. While Revis ultimately wound up signing a five-year, $70 million contract with the New York Jets, he admitted Wednesday his free agent talks with the Steelers at that time were more than just complimentary.
“There was definitely an interest there,” Revis said Wednesday, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.
Revis who played his college football at Pittsburgh, was drafted 14th overall in 2007 NFL Draft and one spot before the Steelers selected linebacker Lawrence Timmons. During his Tuesday press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked to recall the interest he had in Revis that year during the draft process.
“Man that’s so long ago, man, I can’t remember,” said Tomlin. “He’s a quality player. He went off the board I think before we picked, so you knew that. I think he was probably top corner in that draft, so I looked at him in the ways that you look at top corners in the draft. Ones that you probably don’t get a chance to take.”
It would have been interesting had Revis not been drafted by the Jets that year as one would think the Steelers would have selected him with their pick. Needless to say, had Revis ultimately started his career in Pittsburgh, he probably would have left via free agency after his rookie contract had ended due to his price tag being so high. With that said, Timmons wasn’t a bad consolation prize.
The Steelers will of course host the Jets Sunday at Heinz Field and it’s too early to tell whether or not Revis will play in that game due to him currently battling a hamstring injury. Revis has had a tough 2016 season so far and it has included him being beat deep several times.
