Jets Agree to Terms With Buster Skrine — And the Best Player They’ve Ever Had

Granted, I’d never heard of Daryl Hank “Buster” Skrine II until roughly two days ago, but I can tell you this: he’s going to have a ton of passes thrown his way next season, and since he racked up 15 penalties while playing cornerback for the Cleveland Browns in 2014, he might want to give the NFL rulebook’s sections on pass interference and illegal contact a good read before he suits up for his new team.

The Jets dramatically upgraded what had been their almost unspeakably awful defensive backfield Tuesday when they agreed to terms with Skrine and, oh yeah, the best player in their admittedly not-so-proud history.

Cornerback Darrelle Revis is a Jet again, and Gang Green fans everywhere are rejoicing. After all, they’re not the ones paying the soon-to-be 30-year-old $70 million (hey, not even $40 million of it’s guaranteed, in case you’re really that worried).

The fact that Revis got away in the first place left the Jets’ faithful shaking their heads when he was traded to the Bucs in 2013. Their heads nearly shook right off when owner Woody Johnson and ex-General Manager John Idzik turned down an opportunity to send Revis Island back to the Big Apple a year ago.

For his first five seasons with the Jets, Revis essentially shut down half of the field, denying the opposing receivers the ball as effectively as any NFL cornerback ever had. When Gang Green made it to two consecutive AFC title games in the 2009 and 2010 seasons, there was no question who the star of the team was. (Hint: Not Mark Sanchez.)

Now Revis rejoins a Jets defense sorely in need of cover guys who can blanket receivers in one-and-one coverage, allowing new coach Todd Bowles to inflict his blitz-happy scheme on opposing offenses. The fact that Revis does so at all is the best news Jets nation has had in years. They wouldn’t care if their star cornerback just returned from Mars.

That he’s coming back after a one-year stopover with the hated New England Patriots, though, is seen as nothing less than a miracle. It’s hard to say what’s sweeter for Jets fans: how much the move helps their team or hurts the Pats. It almost makes Belichick, Brady et al. winning another one OK.

Almost.

If defensive linemen Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson can stay healthy, the (recently-resigned) David Harris-led linebacker corps can again be stout and the safeties can do anything at all to support Revis and Skrine, the Jets D should be among the league’s very best in 2015.