When the Miami Dolphins get together for a mandatory minicamp on Friday in Florida, defensive end Jason Taylor will have a big decision to make.  As will the team.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network lays out the situation perfectly.

For Taylor, he needs to decide whether to show up for the mandatory session.  Skipping it would subject him to a daily fine of $8,638, and possibly to an effort to recover any signing bonus money that might apply to the last two years of his contract, depending on the specific language of the deal regarding bonus forfeitures.

If Taylor opts to report, the team would then have to decide whether to allow him to participate — and risk owing Taylor his entire $8 million base salary if an ACL tears or an Achilles’ tendon ruptures.

Of course, the CBA already has been interpreted to prohibit a team from refusing to allow a guy to work out.  So then the question becomes whether the team can restrict Taylor’s activities to limit injury, as the team apparently did last year with quarterback Daunte Culpepper.

Schefter also lists five teams that have shown “varying degrees of interest” in Taylor during the offseason — the Saints, Eagles, Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Chargers.  In our view, Taylor’s next team (if indeed there is a next team) must fit within his obvious strategic plan to become a star on the silver screen, meaning that Taylor’s next team must already have a high profile (e.g., the Cowboys) or be in a position to acquire one by playing into February.

We think that Taylor should call the team’s bluff and show up for the mandatory minicamp.  Given coach Tony Sparano recently declared to the world that Taylor won’t be there, it would make for great theater — possibly greater theater than anything that this oversized Yul Brynner will ever give us at the cineplex.