Bucs Cut Sixteen-Million-Dollar Man Darrelle Revis

(Reuters) – Five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis joined the free-agent pool on Wednesday when he was cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who found it too expensive to keep the top-flight defender.

Revis stood to earn $16 million this season from the Bucaneers, whose new coach, Lovie Smith, runs a Tampa-2 defense less reliant on elite man-to-man defenders such as Revis.

The Patriots, Raiders, and Browns figure to pursue the free agent cornerback. The Patriots, after losing physical corner Aqib Talib, have a need for Revis; the Browns and Raiders have the money for Revis.