Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
The NFL’s annual owners’ meetings have begun in Phoenix, Arizona, and despite the name, it is not just a meeting of NFL owners sitting around and discussing rules and regulations. It is an event, at which NFL media types, front office members, and even agents gather to make deals and get rare face-to-face opportunities to talk about trades, contracts, and whatever other issues have been brewing over the long offseason. Here’s NFL writer Omar Kelly’s recent tweet that will give you an idea the kind of people who show up at these meetings:
Drew Rosenhaus is on my flight to Arizona, so you can expect deals to still get made at owners meeting.
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) March 17, 2013
So if Drew Rosenhaus is going to be there, you can assume he’s there to either get work done, or make a scene for himself. Either way, he’s there to do his job.
So how does this impact the Buccaneers?
Well, the Jets will be there. The Buccaneers will be there. And if you hadn’t heard, there might be trade talks between those teams.
RT @BucBuckeye @HolderStephen you seem to suggest that any Revis deal might linger til after the draft>>No. Didn't mean to. Owners mtgs IMO
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) March 17, 2013
As Stephen Holder, among many other journalists, has noted that the owners meetings will be a chance for the Jets and Buccaneers’ front offices to talk about a deal. The million dollar bonus that was paid to Revis this weekend will not limit a deal from being done, because this is a deal that involves high draft picks and tens of millions in future salary implications. So when the two teams sit down, they can have lines of communication clearly open, and hammer out the details that are currently preventing a deal from getting done.
I honestly believe that a deal will get done this week. The prevailing sentiment among those connected to the situation is that there is plenty of smoke surrounding the deal, and that they are just looking for the fire. The owners’ meetings will be a chance for the fire to be stoked, and a deal to be hammered out. The Buccaneers would still need to complete a deal with Revis on a long-term extension, but at this point, that’s the easiest part of this ordeal.
We saw a very quiet Saturday because the decision makers were on their way to the owners’ meetings. We’ll likely see a significant uptick in information over the next few days, and don’t be surprised if some of that news is about the Buccaneers acquiring Darrelle Revis.