Darrelle Revis’s stint as a member of the Patriots feels like a football fever dream. But it happened. The Patriots and Revis used each other in 2014. The Patriots got a defense that could deliver their elusive fourth Super Bowl title and a rebuttal to Spygate truthers. Revis got a Super Bowl ring and a chance to reestablish his market value for one last bite at the Big Apple.

It was a win-win. It looks like the Patriots are still winning, as Revis has lost his touch in the second season of a pricey­ return to the New York Jets. You can’t blame Jets fans for feeling that Revis is a Patriot plant, sent back by Bill Belichick, whose disdain for the J-E-T-S runs deep, to sabotage their defense and their salary cap.

As the Patriots prepare to face the Jets for the first time this season on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, Revis’s role in the rivalry, like his play, has declined. Revis has enjoyed a central role in the Border War plot since entering the NFL in 2007.

He was drafted by Belichick’s personal Judas, Eric Mangini. He called Randy Moss a slouch. He got in a conference call spat with Patriots reporters in 2009 over whether he had covered Moss man-to-man in a New York win in which Moss was held to four catches for 24 yards.

The Patriots accused Jets owner Woody Johnson of tampering after Johnson said at a news conference, “Darrelle’s a great player. I’d love Darrelle to come back.’’ The league fined the Jets $100,000 for the comments. Revis fired back at Patriots fans on social media after he rejoined the Jets. In May 2015, Revis insinuated that Tom Brady deserved the suspension for Deflategate and said the Patriots “have a history of doing stuff.’’

Revis being a Patriot for one season was like Reggie Jackson playing for the Red Sox or Moses Malone suiting up for the Celtics. It was like changing houses in the War of the Roses. (It probably helped that Revis had a career layover with the Buccaneers in between switching AFC East allegiances.)

In the second season of his $70 million deal with the Jets, Revis has gone from shutdown corner to broken-down corner. Revis appears resigned to his descent. He has mentioned moving to safety. He told Newsday that his body is breaking down — at age 31. He told the New York Daily News this month that he’s not playing well because he’s old. I guess Revis has never heard of Hall of Famer Darrell Green, who made the Pro Bowl at 37 and played cornerback into his 40s.

It’s also possible that Revis has become a shut-it-down corner after he got $39 million guaranteed to return to the Jets. He admitted that after offseason wrist surgery he came back overweight.

Revis Island has fallen off the map. He is no longer the Baryshnikov of the backpedal.

No. 24 has no interceptions and two passes defended this year. Last season, he intercepted five passes, including one in the Jets’ 26-20 overtime win over the Patriots.

Pro Football Focus has Revis as the 80th-rated corner in coverage performance in the league.

It’s one thing when Cincinnati’s A.J. Green gets the better of Revis, but it has been shocking to watch him get torched by the likes of Buffalo’s Marquise Goodwin and Kenny Britt of the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams went right at Revis in the Jets’ 9-6 loss on Nov. 13.

There was much consternation and criticism when the Patriots lost Revis following the 2014 season. But it’s not even a debate at this point. Malcolm Butler is more of a shutdown corner than Revis.

While we praise the Patriots and Belichick for once again displaying the foresight and fiscal restraint that so many of their competitors in the NFL lack, it should be pointed out that Robert Kraft stated at the 2015 owners’ meetings that the Patriots made a “very competitive offer’’ to Revis. Kraft said that the team wanted to keep him.

But because the Jets haven’t had a franchise quarterback since Joe Namath they were willing to treat Revis like one, making him the focal point of the franchise.

With the Jets in the middle of a 3-7 season, they probably have buyer’s remorse.

Humbled, perhaps, Revis has been more conciliatory when talking about his former team. He called Brady “probably the best quarterback to step on the field, ever.’’

Brady returned the praise on Friday, basically eliding Revis’s downturn this season from his Hall of Fame résumé.

“He’s a phenomenal player. Everybody has up and down games, but he’s been one of the best for a long time,’’ said Brady. “I think you always have to have a lot of respect for that and what his abilities are. Playing against him and practicing against him every day when he was here, he’s an incredible player and he has been that way since he came into the league in 2007.

“He has locked down a lot of people over the years. So, it’s pretty amazing just what he’s able to do. Outside of scheme help . . . there was never any scheme help for him. He was just, ‘I got you, and I’m going to take you out of the game.’ He always gets everyone’s best player and those guys always come out of the game with hardly any catches, so it’s pretty amazing.’’

But when asked a follow-up question about teams being more willing to attack Revis, Brady conceded that the film showed some deep balls being completed.

Brady had rumors of his athletic demise greatly exaggerated in 2014. Hopefully, the same is true of Revis.

He has always been a delight to watch. His candor doesn’t always serve him well but is refreshing. The Patriots-Jets rivalry is more interesting when Revis plays a pivotal role and plays like a shutdown corner.

Those days might be over.

Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at cgasper@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @cgasper.