Taylor Tapped Danced His Way Out of Miami

Bill Parcells may be mellowing as he grows older. When he had issues with wide receiver Terry Glenn while both were in New England, the Tuna referred to his player as “she.” As Jason Taylor defied his new boss by staying away from offseason team workouts to continue his quest on “Dancing with the Stars,” Parcells could have had a field day with the Pro Bowl defensive end, but chose to take the high road.

Although it took a little longer than expected, Taylor will be taking the road out of Miami after being dealt to the Washington Redskins for a pair of draft picks. Anything but a total commitment will not go over well with Parcells, who took over the team after last season’s 1-15 disaster. Missing ample time with questionable injuries, as Glenn did, is one thing. Staying away to go dancing while a new coaching staff puts their plan into place is not acceptable at any level of organized sports, something that an 11-year veteran such as Taylor should have known. It was blatantly obvious that the 33 year-old wanted out of town and let his teammates down by leaving off his cleats for dancing shoes.

Neither executive vicer president of football operations Parcells or new head coach Tony Sparano could have relished the idea of trading one of the cornerstones to the team. Taylor has 117 career sacks, including 11 last year, and has started every game in the last eight years. But when a player puts himself and his possible next career before the team, they are better off without him.

Publicly, Taylor has stated that he intends to play just one more season before pursuing a Hollywood acting career. His contract runs through 2009, and Vinny Cerrato is not concerned about Taylor not honoring it.
“I’m 100 percent positive he’ll play longer than one year,” the Redskins vice president told reporters.

It will be some time before this trade can be fully evaluated. The Fish will receive a 2009 second-round pick and a 2010 sixth-rounder. That seems a bit on the light side for the reigning NFL Man of the Year and the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, but although they did not make it known, there was no way that Taylor was going to open up training camp as a Dolphin. That would have sent a bad message to the rest of the squad that you can defy the new regime and get away with it. He had to be dealt, if not released, to prove a point and begin the new program properly.

It may be a step back for Miami, but it’s a one, not a two-step.

Tagged with: Acting Career, Bill Parcells, Career Sacks, Cerrato, Cleats, Cornerstones, Dancing Shoes, Dancing With The Stars, Draft Picks, Football Operations, Head Coach Tony, Jason Taylor, New Boss, Organized Sports, Pro Bowl, Redskins, Terry Glenn, Tony Sparano, Total Commitment, Wide Receiver

Taylor Tapped Danced His Way Out of Miami

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