The Patriots and Revis agreed to a one-year, $12 million deal, a move first reported by ESPN.com.

The famed “Revis Island,’’ one of the most impenetrable locations on the NFL map during his heyday with the New York Jets, moves for the second straight year. At 28 and going into his eighth season, Revis now gets a chance to prove that the island still exists.

Once the cornerstone of the Rex Ryan defense that anchored a Jets team that reached two straight AFC championships, Revis’ last dominant season was 2011, when teams refused to throw in his direction at all and he was a first-team All-NFL for the third straight year.

If the Buccaneers’ new management, led by head coach Lovie Smith, believes he’s still that player — and Smith has said that he is — it still decided that skill wasn’t worth the cost. Revis was reportedly due $16 million for next season, plus a $1.5 million signing bonus and the loss of a higher draft pick to the Jets in May.

The Bucs started negotiating with him to restructure his deal earlier this week, then shopped him around.

The prospect that Revis would play for three teams in three years seemed preposterous as recently as 11 months ago, when the Jets traded him to Tampa Bay in the wake of both his torn ACL and his contract demands.

How Revis was used in the Bucs' defensive scheme, and how healthy his post-surgical knee was, became a weekly debate around the team. None of the hostility came from Revis himself, however. He defended his increased play in zones, and not faced up against the best opposing receiver, as a mutual decision to protect his knee. Revis still made his fifth Pro Bowl, with two interceptions.

Smith, synonymous with the Tampa-2 his entire NFL coaching career, was perfectly fine with playing Revis in that scheme or any other.


MCCOWN GETS CHANCE WITH BUCS


Josh McCown will get his chance to be a starting quarterback. It just won't be in Chicago.

The 34-year-old is no longer a free agent after signing a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaners, his agent announced on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.

The Buccaneers will mark McCown's sixth team in the NFL. Before spending the past three seasons backing up Jay Cutler in Chicago, he also played for the Carolina Panthers, Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions. He was a third-round draft pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2002, with whom he spent his first four seasons.

McCown became an attractive older QB to other teams when he went 3-2 as the Bears starter filling in for Cutler in 2013. He thrived in Marc Trestman's West Coast offense with a talented receiving corps, posting an exemplarary 109.0 passer rating (13 touchdowns to just one interception).

Now McCown looks like an immediate starting option for former Bears coach Lovie Smith in Tampa Bay, and Smith said as mucn in McCown's introductory presser. The Buccaneers had second-year QB Mike Glennon at the top of their depth chart. But given their aggresive moves on defense (Michael Johnson, Alterraun Verner), their push for win-now mode puts McCown in control of the competition.

Josh is the second McCown brother to play for the Bucs. His brother Luke, also a quarterback, was with them from 2007-'08.


SO LONG, SMITTY


Steve Smith's time with the Carolina Panthers will end after 13 seasons, according to the player's agent.

Smith's agent, Derrick Fox, told the Associated Press Smith: "is not going to play for the Panthers next year, I know that. I just don't know when that transaction is going to take place." He added that the Panthers have not asked to restructure Smith's contract.

Smith, 34, carried a $7 million salary-cap number. His release will save the Panthers only $2 million, however, given the $5 million they still owe him.

The five-time Pro Bowler turns 35 in May. A third-round draft pick out of Utah in 2001, he's the franchise leader in career receptions (836), receiving yards (12,197) and receiving touchdowns (67).

Although wideout is a position of need for the Panthers as they try to keep building a better offense around quarterback Cam Newton, Smith is coming off limited production in 2013 (64 catches, 745 yards, 4 TDs). Overall, Carolina's receiving group didn't have much punch outside of tight end Greg Olsen. Smith joins wide receiver Brandon LaFell as a free agent, priming the Panthers to make wholesale changes to their corps coming out of the 2014 NFL draft.

Like with similiar veterans, Smith's best bet for his second NFL team is a contender looking for a sparkplug and not one looking at Smith as a No. 1 wideout. He wants to play in the slot, but there wasn't an opportunity to do that with the Panthers. Feeling jilted by his long-term team also puts the Panthers' scheduled rivals on the list of possible suitors.


VIKINGS GRAB NT JOSEPH


Considering they were 31st in the NFL last season in yards allowed per game, shoring up the defense was a big priority for the Minnesota Vikings this season, especially now that they have a defensive-minded head coach in former Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

Minnesota took another step toward achieving that goal on Wednesday, inking free agent Linval Joseph to a five-year deal, $31.5 million deal.

Joseph, ranked as SN's No. 18 overall free agent, comes to the Vikings after spending the first four year years of his career with the Giants. New York drafted the 6-4, 323-pound Joseph in the second round in 2010 out of East Carolina.

Coincidentally, that was the year that longtime stalwart Minnesota nose tackle Pat Williams retired; the team hasn't enjoyed the type of mammoth, gap-plugging presence that Willams brought to the defensive line since. Considering his hefty size and proven abilities, Joseph should finally prove at least an adequate replacement.

Joseph's addition continues an active free agency period for the Vikings' defensive line. The team had already re-signed defensive end Everson Griffen to a five-year deal worth potentially $42.5 million and are set to host former Bears Pro Bowl defensive end Henry Melton on a visit Thursday, a source told the Associated Press. (The team also re-signed defensive end Brian Robison to a contract extension last October.)


DECKER TO JETS


With the Broncos making a splash in free agency so far, you had to know they wouldn't be able to hold on to every key player from last year's AFC-winning team.

The first casualty of Denver's spending is reportedly wide receiver Eric Decker.

"Jets announced deal with former Broncos WR Eric Decker." — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) 

Schefter also reported that the deal is worth $36.25 million over five years, including $15 million of guaranteed money.

The Jets officially announced the signing moments after Schefter's tweet Wednesday night.

Decker has spent each of his four years in the NFL with the Broncos, who picked him in the 3rd round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of Minnesota. Decker has amassed 3,070 receiving yards and 33 touchdowns in his career so far and notched career highs of 13 receiving touchdowns in 2011 and 1,288 receiving yards in 2012 playing in Denver's Peyton Manning-led, high-powered passing attack.

The addition gives New York a much-needed receiving threat to help make life easier for whoever's playing quarterback, whether it's Geno Smith or even Mark Sanchez. While Decker is certainly a significant loss on Denver's end, the team still has plenty of weapons surrounding Manning, including receivers Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker and tight end Julius Thomas.


BROWNS RELEASE WEEDEN, CAMPBELL


The Cleveland Browns are giving up on quarterback Brandon Weeden after just two seasons. The team made Weeden's release official with an announcement on Wednesday. Minutes later, they also decided to release quarterback Jason Campbell.

Although Weeden was taken with the 22nd overall pick in the 2012 draft, it didn't take long for the now 30-year-old QB to fall out of favor. He won just 5 of his 20 starts with the Browns, with a bad passer rating of 71.8.

it was no secret that the Browns' brass of last season, Joe Banner and Michael Lombardi, weren't big fans of Weeden's potential. There was a thinking he might mesh well with the downfield passing scheme of Rob Chudzinski and Norv Turner, but that coach and offensive coordinator were just ahead of Banner and Lombardi in going out the door.

The Browns quickly turned to Brian Hoyer in his first year with the team last season, and when Hoyer went on the shelf with a knee injury (torn ACL), Campbell was the preferred replacement option over Weeden. Now the latter two quarterbacks are no longer with the team.

There were some bright moments, but given the Browns' strong receiving corps (Josh Gordon, Jordan Cameron), Weeden wasn't the one to be efficient in getting the ball into his playmakers' hands. At the moment, if Hoyer comes back healthy, he would be the stopgap option for the new coach/coordinator combination of Mike Pettine and Kyle Shanahan.

With Weeden cleared, it also leaves the Browns ready to draft a quarterback in May. There's the thinking that Johnny Manziel would be a hot target at No. 4 overall, where the Browns pick in the first round. But just like last year, Cleveland might prefer to stick with Hoyer and rather look for a developmental type QB later in the draft. Another veteran from free agency also is an option.

Contributors: David Steele, Rana L. Cash, Ben Estes, David Steele

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