Tampering charges filed against Jets for Darrelle Revis comment

The New England Patriots could have let it go, that throwaway comment from New York Jets owner Woody Johnson about how nice it would be to have Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis come back to the Jets.

But the Patriots apparently weren't too happy about their rival commenting on a player who is under their contractual control. Tampering charges were filed with the NFL, according to ESPN.com's Adam Schefter, and the NFL is looking into it. Schefter's report doesn't specifically say the Patriots filed the charges, though that would be the clear assumption.

The comments about Revis, who is under contract with the Patriots through the 2015 season, came on Dec. 29 during Johnson's press conference.

“Darrelle is a great player and if I had thought I could have gotten Darrelle for that, I probably would have taken him back," Johnson said. "It was our best judgment to do what we did. But Darrelle's a great player."

"I'd love Darrelle to come back.”

That is textbook tampering, by the NFL rule. The Jets could be fined or even potentially lose a draft pick if the NFL finds them guilty of tampering. Revis is on a two-year deal, although he has a $20 million option for next season that is unlikely to be picked up. Not that one of the best defensive players in the NFL needed to know that he'd have suitors if the option isn't picked up, but Johnson's comments were a clear invitation to come back to where he started his career once he becomes a free agent.

Were Johnson's comments that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things? Probably not. It's not like Revis' agent won't field more than a dozen calls a few minutes after he hits the market. His first-team All-Pro nod this season was his fourth in eight seasons. He won't be hurting for work, everyone is aware of that. It's not like anything Johnson said was surprising or will change anyone's plans.

But these two AFC East rivals have had public wars off the field before (cough, Spygate, cough) and Johnson's fairly innocuous comments weren't going to just slide by.