JT Has Surgery, Future Remains Unclear

There's no question the Dolphins should re-sign Jason Taylor and allow him to finish his career in aqua and orange.

It must have taken hours, what with the hard candy shell and all the layers of awesome to cut through, but doctors have performed a succesful arthroscopic surgery on Jason Taylor's shoulder.

Taylor's right wing was first injured in game 5 against the Giants, and he played out the season through pain. It will be three months before his rehab is complete, according to his agent Gary Wichard, which would be just about the time the Dolphins are ramping up organized team activities.

Will Taylor be there? It's unclear. He's now a free agent, and the Dolphins haven't indicated whether or not they'll ask no. 99 back for another year. What is clear is that Taylor wants to play again, and he'd obviously like to do it as a Dolphin -- which isn't to say he's interested in the same paltry prodigal son deal he was given last year, or the same off-position.

"You need the right situation," he said earlier this month. "There's a business side to it, too, which got overlooked last year that I was fine with...but at the end of the day I want to play ball in the right situation and right position and make it work."

With Joey Porter's impending re-fire-ment, Taylor's natural position at weakside is open, and he says he's willing to play a backup role (and certainly demonstrated that willingness while an ill-tempered Porter refused to come off the field). But he's right about one thing: the man can probably endorse buttons or carpet remnants all the way to the bank for the rest of his life, but with just one more year of an NFL salary, he shouldn't have to go undervalued, either.

And why shouldn't Miami pony up just a little, one last time? The Dolphins certainly need some veteran leadership, he's not out of gas quite yet, and even with a raise he's still good value. After all, Porter was paid $185,365 per tackle last year to Taylor's $35,714, and like the ancient Chinese proverb says: it's better to have a one-shouldered man than a total raging a-hole, and having neither leaves you Channing Crowder. 

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