Image courtesy of Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Though not here long, Darrelle Revis’ contribution to the 2014 championship should be remembered appreciatively.

On Thursday night during the NFL Honors, Revis was named as part of the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. Revis, Ronde Barber, Zach Thomas, Joe Thomas, DeMarcus Ware, Chuck Howley, Joe Klecko, Ken Riley and Don Coryell were all part of the class that will be inducted prior to the first preseason game of the year in August.

The 2014 Patriots defense is arguably the best of the Bill Belichick era, with the “Homeland Defense,” Ted Washington, Rodney Harrison days the only other real argument to be made. Revis and Brandon Browner were massive additions and despite perhaps being on the back nine of his career by the time he made it to New England, Revis was an integral piece of the puzzle. If the 2014 team doesn’t beat Seattle, who knows if the organization has six rings or if Brady has seven.

In the one year with the Patriots, Revis started all 16 games, had two interceptions, 14 passes defended, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and 41 solo tackles. In the playoffs, Revis had one pick, three passes defended and three solo tackles. Not eye popping numbers by any means, but we all know how much his presence on the field alone meant.

The whole “Revis Island” thing was obviously created when he was a Jet and he’ll always be remembered for his days of pure dominance wearing the green and white. The true mark of a Hall of Fame player should always be easy. If you can ask the question “was he one of the most feared players of his era?” and the answer is yes, you’re a Hall of Famer. Revis obviously fits in that category. Not only that, but even if the Jets didn’t win a Super Bowl, the playoff win in Foxborough in 2010 and back-to-back AFC title game appearances during the Rex Ryan days most certainly allowed the team to remove the “perennial clown show” label for a little while. Doing that for the Jets franchise should be HOF worthy on its own.

Revis may have just been a small piece of Patriots history and will probably often get forgotten in bar conversations about Patriots teams of the past, but just his presence here was crucial to the dynasty lasting a few more years. Hopefully, fans can shake the Jets thing and remember Revis’ stint here fondly.