Jets CB Revis says he really was lightheaded, doesn’t regret approach

Revis says he really was lightheaded at practice

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Darrelle Revis insists he’s not playing head games with the New York Jets.

A day after staging a protest of his stalled contract talks, the All-Pro cornerback said he actually was lightheaded when he sat out a few plays during practice Monday.

“I didn’t eat anything that morning, for real,” Revis said Tuesday. “I came in here and went straight to meetings and didn’t eat anything. I drank Gatorade, but I didn’t eat anything, so I was like, ‘I feel funny.’

Defensive backs coach Dennis Thurman told him to take a break, and Revis went to the sideline. After practice, Revis was told he needed to get his blood checked and he told trainers he had to get something to eat.

He then told reporters that he sat because his head had bothered him and “a hamstring pull, too.”

“The hamstring,” Revis said, “I kind of exaggerated that and went on with it.”

He did say Monday that sitting out a few plays “was something just to let them know I can play, and I can not play.” He reiterated Tuesday that the negotiations played a role in him sitting.

“Yeah, it was a factor to a point,” Revis said. “Because now I’m getting to a frustrated point, and when you get to a frustrated point, other things start happening. But like I said, if I’m lightheaded, I’m lightheaded.”

Revis, who said he spoke from the heart Monday, added that it all wasn’t for show.

“If I really wanted to make a statement,” he said Tuesday, “I would’ve just not practiced.”

Revis, already a two-time Pro Bowl selection in three seasons, is uncertain if he’ll hold out during training camp if a deal isn’t done by then. He has not yet considered asking for a trade because he’d like to follow in the footsteps of Darrell Green, who played his entire career with Washington.

“I want to be a Jet forever,” he said. “I don’t want to get cut, get released or get traded.”

Revis also shot down some theories that him sitting out a few plays was a way to not get fined by missing minicamp and still make a statement. The Jets could buy back the final two years of his contract — which would be worth $20 million guaranteed — but Revis would lose it all if he misses any mandatory practices.

“The thing is, me and my agents have talked about it, about letting the money go,” Revis said. “They were like, ‘Do you want to lose this?’ And I was like, ‘I’ll think about it.’ And then, I was like, ‘I’ll go’ because I want to be here. I don’t want to be at home, not doing anything. I don’t want to be a distraction.”

The situation was exacerbated Monday when coach Rex Ryan first defended Revis sitting out. He was then clearly disappointed when told the cornerback acknowledged he was making a statement.

The two said they would speak at some point later Tuesday to smooth things out.

“It’s so not him,” Ryan said. “It’s uncharacteristic of him to get out of anything. I’ve got to hear it from the horse’s mouth. I know what he told you guys.”

Revis is upset over the stalled contract talks, and claims the Jets’ offers have contained no guaranteed money. He is due to make $1 million in the fourth season of his six-year rookie deal, and wants to be the league’s highest-paid cornerback. Oakland’s Nnamdi Asomugha holds that distinction after signing a three-year, $45.3 million extension last offseason.

“This is the beginning of stuff turning bad,” Revis said. “I’m going to talk to Rex today and we’re going to try to see eye to eye and try to do it the right way. Yesterday was a little frustration going back and forth, but we don’t want it to get that way. We don’t.”

NOTES: The Jets announced that the reduced rates — up to 50 percent in some sections — are now available to the general public. Last Friday, the team cut prices for 9,000 unsold PSLs and made them available to current season ticket holders, in an effort to avoid a television blackout at the start of the season.