Darrelle Revis Rumors: Patriots, Broncos trying to get star cornerback

The rumors surrounding Darrelle Revis continue to swirl. Oh offseason, how I lo(v/ath)e thee. Pro Football Talk wrote a neat little story citing speculation in league circles that the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos could be after Darrelle Revis (h/t Gil Arcia). Because teams love adding $16 million cap hits to their roster.

Trading for Darrelle Revis would be completely out of character for the New England Patriots, who tend to shy away from big contracts and big trades. Theirs is the way of finding small additions and players, and even the stars they try to add come cheap because of their own flaws, such as Randy Moss and Aqib Talib. Darrelle Revis would surely help the Patriots, but trading away picks and acquiring a massive contract is simply not something they ever do.

As for the Denver Broncos, they may make more sense. They have a terrific offense, despite that weird Super Bowl display, but their defense has struggled, especially in coverage. Revis would help that defense (he'd help any defense), but at $19.4 million in cap space they don't exactly have a lot of room to add players like Revis.

However, yesterday's news of a massive increase to the salary cap not just this year, but the coming few years makes trading Revis a lot less attractive for the Buccaneers. Revis would be a terrific asset for Lovie Smith's defense, even if he's unlikely to design said defense around the star cornerback. The idea that he can't play under Smith is complete nonsense, and trading him would leave the Bucs with a hole at cornerback they'd need to fill. With the added cap space, the $16 million in cap relief from trading Revis would be less beneficial, too.

The soft deadline for any Revis trade would be March 13, when the Buccaneers are set to pay Revis a $1.5 million roster bonus and set to send their third-round pick to the New York Jets. If a trade occurs before that date, the Bucs would send the Jets a fourth-rounder instead.