Transcript: Woody Johnson, 8.2
On Darrelle Revis…
Number one, am I disappointed? Yes. I would like everything to be clear sailing right to the Super Bowl and we win that and we’re done. Part of running a team and running a franchise is dealing with disappointment and trying to make things right for the team and the players. So, Darrelle, I’m disappointed he’s not here. The lines of communication, as Mike (Tannenbaum) has talked about, are totally open. I’m open. If Darrelle wants me to go down and see him, wherever he is, and talk to him and his family and express my feelings (I will).
On his thoughts about Revis’ feelings about the fully guaranteed money issue…
Here’s my take on that. I think the main issue with us at this point is total compensation. We haven’t negotiated guaranteed money because we’re so far apart on the other issues. I’d love to sit down and negotiate. We can be flexible. We know how good a player Darrelle is. We drafted him, so he’s our guy. We love Darrelle. We want to give him something that he’s comfortable with but also something the team is comfortable with. (We want to) make it a two-sided deal.
On the possible lockout being a factor in contract talks…
No, that’s not the way we look at it. We look at it game-to-game, quite frankly. We like to plan for the future. Next year is a bit more of an unknown than usual. Nobody can predict the future any year in the NFL, in terms of trying to plan. We try, as an organization, to plan as efficiently as we can so that we can field the best team possible to take us where we want to go and where our fans want us to go.
On whether he’s willing to make Revis the highest-paid cornerback in football…
If Mike (Tannenbaum) came to me today and said I’ve got a deal that I think is good for the New York Jets and good for Revis, who we care about, we would do it. I’ll put it right there. We want to have a deal that’s good for him and also good for us, that we can live with.
On if he worries about rules changing regarding a salary cap in the future…
You’re talking about the imponderable. We know what we know now. I think we can negotiate in good faith on both sides just with what we know. It’s complicated, but I think willing parties can sit down and come up with something to satisfy what his desire is and also satisfy what we need.
On if changing salary-cap rules would affect negotiations…
No. A lot of deals happened this year, Chris Johnson (Tennessee Titans running back), a bunch of deals are made in the same environment.
On whether cash-flow issues are making the organization hesitant to give a big signing bonus…
This is my eleventh year. We’ve never had an inability through resources, (or) lack of resources, to sign whoever we wanted. We can go down the list, whether you want to talk about Brett Favre or even Mark Sanchez, in terms of signing the players we want. We can do it but, we have to do it in the context of what’s best for the organization, what we think is the best, (and) what Mike (Tannenbaum) thinks, really, because he’s in charge of that department. I hired him and I extended him because I think he has very good judgment. I’m not going to impose my judgment on him, saying, “Well, I don’t like this deal. I do like this deal.” If he comes to me with a recommendation and says, “Woody, I think this is fair for us and I think this is a good deal for Revis,” then we’ll do it today. We’ll do it this afternoon.
On new contracts and extensions…
That’s business as usual. We want to have a good foundation. We got D’Brickashaw Ferguson, signed. You need a good left tackle. You need a good general manager. You need a good coach. When we can do business, we will do business.
On who decides how much to offer…
That’s Mike (Tannenbaum) and his department.
On his reaction to Revis rejecting the offers…
I’m disappointed that he’s not here. He’s under contract right now, so we were just giving him other options that were good for him and good for us.
On if he would like to see a short-term solution…
I would like to have some meeting of the minds with both groups. It’s Darrelle (Revis) and the New York Jets (that need) to come to some agreement – (the agreement) we have now, or something slightly different.
On whether there is a sense of urgency…
He’s maybe the best player we have but I have confidence in Rex, the coaching staff, and our players that are here. We lost a couple good players, three or four good players last year including Kris Jenkins, arguably the best nose tackle in the league, maybe the best ever to play. We lost him and we did great. It’s a team sport, 53 guys on the roster. We need all 53 to play and to win. We really do. We can’t win with 40.
On if the situation with Revis’ hold out will end well…
I’m an optimist. I think that Revis is a good person. Remember that piece about Revis? As a young man (while living) in an apartment, (he) gave his bedroom to his brother and he slept in the hall. I don’t know if you ever saw that. That’s Revis. That’s the Revis that I think of, (and) he’s also a great player. That’s what’s important to the team.
On if he will stop trying to re-sign Revis…
Well, just because you want to do something doesn’t mean it happens. There are a lot of things that I’ve tried to do that I haven’t accomplished. That doesn’t mean we’re going to stop working or that we’ll lose respect or affection for Revis and for his family as well. We’re going to keep trying. We’re going to try until we can’t try anymore.
On fully guaranteed bonus money for Revis…
I don’t think that’s the sticking point. The sticking point is total compensation. We haven’t talked really about any of those other issues. We’d be happy to do it because I think we’re going to be very flexible.
On giving Revis a large signing bonus…
I think if we can come together, have a spirit of cooperation that gets us closer to the overall compensation that we think is fair for us and good for him. If we can come to that yeah, then we can talk about that.
On potentially making him the highest paid cornerback in the league…
I can’t really give you any numbers or ideas in terms of that. It’s just kind of a vague statement that it has to work for both. We’ll remain flexible. We want to talk to him. Rex (Ryan and) Mike (Tannenbaum) can talk to him. If they want me to join in, I’m happy to do it any time.
On worrying if it’s going to be a long holdout…
I worry about everything until it’s done. We’ll maintain a positive attitude about it and we’ll use all the resources we can. We have to make it happen.
On setting the precedent of tearing up an existing contract…
If we feel it’s in the best interest of the team, whether it’s in getting something that he didn’t have before, then we would do it. We’re just not going to simply tear something up.
3 Responses to Transcript: Woody Johnson, 8.2
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You make it sound as if its something that the Jets can simply do with no consequences. You run your life on a budget, so do they. No one guy is worth wrecking the finances of the whole team over, remember that, too. These amounts will be due year after year and you could have bought a one-year-wonder. Think pick six for a moment, if you will.
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it is difficult to take ownership’s side in negotiations such as this, but it is in the team’s best interest to get a fair deal done. look at the Leon situation last year, as much as I loved Leon, in the end I am glad that we dont have a stupid owner like Snyder who would have caved and given Leon a 5 year, $35M deal. Yes, the team has to take care of its players, but it also has an obligation to adhere to the cap and be smart for the flexibility for future years in terms of the young core of the team. in the end, i am confident that Woody and Mr T can get something done that will not handcuff the team under the next cap
Stop messing around and get this deal done. Killing the morale of this team is not a good idea. They have millions from all the bs PSL’s so give him the money already, he is and will be the best corner in the league for a long time. Do not pull a typical NYJ deal and loose him.