Wednesday, May 13, 2009

REPORT: Jason Taylor to Sign with Dolphins

Ethan Skolnick of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel is reporting that former Miami Dolphins DE/OLB Jason Taylor, traded last offseason to the Washington Redskins for two draft picks, will resign with the Dolphins sometime today.

The Dolphins, looking for a veteran pass rusher to team with Joey Porter and to teach CFL transfer Cameron Wake, were one of four teams believed to have interest in the 34 year old former Defensive Player of the Year (with the Dolphins in 2006). The Patriots were widely believed to be the front runners to land Taylor, with Miami, Tampa Bay, and Kansas City also interested.

Miami received a 2009 second round pick (used to select West Virginia slash player Pat White) and a sixth round selection in 2010 from Washington for Taylor last year. Taylor and Dolphins Executive Vice President of Football Operations Bill Parcells had a very public falling out during the 2008 offseason which ended up in the trade. Apparently the fences have been mended.

MY TAKE: Utter glee. I really hated the way Taylor acted last offseason. He hurt the team and his image, which had always been stellar. He recognized his mistakes and is now owning up to them. He chose to return to Miam rather than play for an arch rival - much like his brother-in-law, Zach Thomas, did the past two offseasons. Taylor may be slowing down but still provides a nice veteran pass rusher that can rotate with Joey Porter, Cameron Wake, Charlie Anderson, and Matt Roth. I am loving this!

UPDATE (1:20 PM): ESPNs Tim Graham has a blog post up about the signing, confirming the Sun-Sentinel report. In it he gives some info. on the deal, which is only for one-year.

ESPN's John Clayton reports Taylor has agreed to a one-year, $1.1 million deal that includes a modest $400,000 in incentives. A league source said Taylor wanted play for the Dolphins so badly he asked them to make him an offer that worked for them.

Taylor, the NFL's active leader in career sacks, will make about the same money as Cameron Wake, the Canadian Football League phenom who hasn't played a down in the NFL.

Emphasis mine. This deal keeps getting better and better. First Taylor decided to return, spurning the Patriots. And he does it for relatively little money (in the NFL world). Wow. Just wow.

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