If the sky turns the color of blood this afternoon, blame Bill Parcells. The man has upset the world's natural order by not immediately signing Jason Taylor for another year, all but forcing Taylor to visit New York today to field an offer from the Jets.
Yeah, those Jets. The Jets for whom Taylor said last spring he'd consider retiring rather than suit up. The Jets whose fans he has called "ignorant," whose chant he (rightly) termed "dumb-ass." The sworn enemy of all that is good and holy and aqua and orange, which includes JT himself.
Taylor's agent broke the news to Joe Rose on WQAM this morning, saying that the trip "isn't simply for leverage." Though the Jets have been wooing Taylor for several weeks now, he's only just accepted that playing might mean playing for the enemy.
And who can blame him?
The Dolphins did give JT a buzz after ignoring his phone calls, but the team wants to wait until after the draft to decide whether or not to bring him back EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE NO OTHER STARTING-QUALITY OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS. Taylor's reportedly not opposed to waiting a month or two to better the chances -- but that doesn't guarantee he'll end up with a job, and the Jets, according to one of Jeff Darlington's sources, are prepared to talk about a one-year, $3 million dollar deal at Taylor's ideal position.
Ouch. Taylor earned a little over one million last year with Miami, later acknowledging that there was a "business aspect" to his contract that was "overlooked," though making it clear he was fine with that at the time and signed the thing just to be back where he belonged.
But this spring isn't like last, when a 34-year-old Taylor was limping out of Washington and pretty sure he could still go. After this past season with the Dolphins, he knows he can -- and that he should at least consider taking advantage of whatever he can get for his few remaining years in uniform.
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Naturally, Taylor deserves the chance to field offers and be smart about his future. But he also deserves the chance to end his career here in Miami, so here's hoping the front office thinks "Jason Taylor, Jet" is as horrifically unacceptable as we do.
Janie Campbell is a Florida native who believes in the pro-set and ballpark hot dogs. Her work has appeared in irreverent sports sites around the internet.
