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When Dolphins V.P. of football operations Bill Parcells and Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor got together on Thursday to clear the air regarding their perceived cat fight, the Tuna asked Taylor to show up at a mandatory minicamp that opened on Friday, according to Sal Paolantonio of ESPN.
Taylor didn’t show up, and he hasn’t given Parcells or anyone else with the team any indication as to whether the 2006 defensive player of the year will report for training camp.
A couple of weeks ago, Fins coach Tony Sparano hastily proclaimed that Taylor wouldn’t be participating in any offseason workouts and wouldn’t attend training camp. Taylor has been far more vague in his discussions regarding the situation.
Sparano and Parcells recently have tried to suggest that they want Taylor to play for the Dolphins in 2008, possibly in an effort to resurrect any trade value that might have existed. However, Paolantonio reports that the phone isn’t ringing.
The problem is that Taylor has made it clear that he is playing only one more year. So who’d give up a high draft pick for a single season with Taylor on the team? As on NFC personnel exec told Paolantonio, “Jason Taylor is doing to the Dolphins exactly what Tiki Barber did to the Giants two years ago. Why would I want to buy that headache for $7.5 million?”
And so the end result is that Taylor and the Dolphins will have no choice but to coexist in 2008, unless Parcells to take a low-round pick for Taylor . . . or to simply cut him loose in order to free up $8 million in cap room.
June 6th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Good for Taylor.
Parcells is a joke.
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Rating: 1.8 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
June 6th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
JT should call it a career….
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June 6th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
To highlight his victory, word is Jason Taylor is going to foxtrot his way onto the field
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June 6th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Taylor’s agent needs to tell him to pull another press conference and “clarify” what he said about playing one more year. I believe he said that his plan right now is to play for one more year. What he should clarify (whether this was his initial intent or not), was the the plan to play for one more year only applies if he is forced to stay in the current situation with a rebuilding team like the dolphins, but that if the right situation came along to play for a winning/contending team, he would love to play for 3 or 4 more years.
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June 6th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
The difference with Barber and Taylor is that Barber announced he was playing till the end of that year before hanging it up and announced relatively early in the season; causing the infamous “distraction” of the Giants that year. Taylor is announcing that he “like” to play “at least” one more year and then possibly retire. No distraction for this upcoming year other than the circus that’s currently going on with team. Although, considering the Dolphins Organization created that “distraction” to begin with, they have nobody to blame but themselves.
Paolantonio, the only guy in the media to take a swipe at Brett Favre on the very day he decided to retire and subsequently angered the entire NFL community in the process. Such an excellent source.
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Rating: 2.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 6th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
“The problem is that Taylor has made it clear that he is playing only one more year. So who’d give up a high draft pick for a single season with Taylor on the team?”
A team that wants to win the Super Bowl and values 2009 more than future years.
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June 6th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Call me a crazy raving lunatic (wouldn’t be the first time), but in NY, if Straham retires, wouldn’t the Giants be interested in a one year flyer for Taylor?
Parcells is still close with the family and still has ties, the giants are either expecting Straham to retire or play for one year and then call it quits.
What difference does it really make, at the end of the day (and no, I haven’t looked at cap issues) to replace one pass rusher good for one season with another pass rusher good for one season.
The dolphins clear cap room, and get something for nothing (at this point, with Taylor having no trade value, any draft pick should be something), and the Giants get someone to step in on the D.Line for just one season….if Straham retires.
Probably won’t happen, but would anyone here really have a heart attack if that scenario did play out?
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June 7th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Palantonio is getting the information that Parcells is giving him. We all know that this information serves Parcells’ needs.
Parcells points out that Jason has been asked to report to camp and has not reported…let there be no guessing as to the fines that will come from missing a mandatory camp.
Trade value was killed when Jason said he wanted to play one more year. His agent can come around all day and say that Jason will play 2 more years but EVERYBODY knows (Dancing Actions speak louder than words) that Jason is one and done….heck maybe if he can get the right gig lined up,.. done prior to this season. How would a team like to trade for Jason, then have him retire prior to the season.
So Parcells is sticking to his guns. Building a TEAM. If you are on this team, you will tow the line. He is sticking to what he said several months ago. Jason will play (or be fined) or retire. Let’s face it. That is what will happen.
If Jason wanted to be traded he’d have asked to be traded and would have not slit his own throat by dancing and then complaining about being treated bad by Parcells, then proclaiming that this is his last year of football, then talking up how he is setting himself up for a career in Hollywood. He doesn’t want to go to another team and work hard. He is done with football.
I think Parcells knows this and doesn’t like players who have their minds on other things.
“I don’t want thugs and hoodlums on the team,” Parcells said of the types of players he’ll try to acquire. “I really don’t. I don’t want bad-character guys. I don’t want problem children.”
Jason is acting like a problem child.
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June 7th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Absolutely no sympathy for JT on this one, not that I necessarily think that the TUNA always does the right thing, buthis record speaks for itself.
JT is UNDER CONTRACT to play for the Miami Dolphins. It is a SIZABLE contract at $7.5MM. His interest in playing for a “winning” team is IRRELEVANT. This is BUSINESS, not what he wants — he is being paid WHETHER HIS TEAM WINS OR LOSES.
I simply have to point out what an honorable man Michael Strahan was last year. All the pundits predicted a bad year for the Giants, Coughlin was supposed to be a lame duck, and Strahan’s take for the year ($3-4MM?) was relatively low. He was confused, but he came back and played for his team, he played for his coach and he played for little money (honoring his contract) — and he won a Super Bowl for his efforts and honor.
This whole episode shows that Strahan did a remarkable thing last year and was rewarded not only with the ring but also with accolades as a true team player and certain Hall of Famer. J.T. is looking no different that T.O. and he is certainly not in the same league as Strahan.
He should dance into the Sunset….
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