As you all know, Jason Taylor signed a two year contract with the New York Jets on Tuesday (if you didn’t know I’m sorry to be the one to break the news to you), and fans have been debating over that fact ever since. At this point, there are basically two sides to that debate. One on side you have fans who are angry at Taylor for his decision, a lot of people have called him a traitor and many have even burned the jersey’s they owned bearing Taylor’s name. On the other side you have the people who understand his decision, that’s not to say that they like it, but they understand it. I am one of those people. The people that know me will tell you that Jason Taylor is my favorite football player. I like Taylor not only because of how good he is but also because of how much he loves the game and the team, he leaves everything on the field every time he plays and he is a great leader in the locker room, and I feel that’s were losing him will hurt the most.
At the end of the 2009 season, Taylor made very clear he had no intention to retire, furthermore, by taking a huge paycut during the 2009 season to come play for Miami he made even clearer that the Dolphins are were his heart is. I still don’t understand why the Dolphins didn’t offer Taylor a deal; he produced on the field, despite having a shoulder injury and playing opposite Porter who was wreaking havoc on the defense at the time. They offered him a contract extension in November under those circumstances, yet now that Porter is gone and JT got his shoulder fixed, no offer was made. I know some of you may say it’s his fault then because he didn’t take that deal, but the truth of the matter is no player takes the first deal offered to them, they all sit down and negotiate. Taylor was being underpayed at the time and this is his job so he was doing what all players do. There are also reports surfacing today from sources who claim the Dolphins did make an offer, personally I don’t believe this. If an offer had been made I’m sure these same sources would’ve said so in the two weeks it took Taylor to actually sign a contract after visiting New York.
So why go play for the Jets? Because they are the only team that made him an offer! Sure Taylor could’ve sat there and waited until after the draft to see if the Dolphins called then, but what if the Dolphins filled their need at that position and didn’t call? What if the Jets did the same? Then he would have to sit and wait to see if there’s an injury in training camp or something of the sort, and that’s not fair to him. Other people said he should’ve retired then, but the truth of the matter is the players make the decision on when to retire not the teams, and it is not fair to force the guy into retirement when he wants to play and is still able to.
No one other than the team and Taylor will ever know what really happened, but I am really disappointed with how it all turned out in the end. I understand that football is a business, but I feel there had to have been a way to handle the situation better. I hate the Jets as much as any true Dolphins fan does, if not more, but they made him a good offer and they showed him a lot of respect. The Jets could only pursue one free agent this season and Taylor is the guy they wanted, he will play in the position he is best at and with the #1 ranked defense in the NFL, still I honestly believe that he would’ve played for the Dolphins instead if he had the chance.
Honestly if I was a Jets fan (I feel sick just typing that) I wouldn’t want JT on the team. Put aside everything he has ever said about them throughout the years; in every interview he has done he has expressed he would rather be playing for the Dolphins; just two weeks ago he said he is going to play for the Jets because they are the only team that made him an offer. Would you really want a guy that feels that way to play for your team? I feel for Taylor because I know it will be hard for him, especially having to face us twice in the season, I can’t imagine EVER wearing a Jets jersey so I wouldn’t want to think about putting one on every week.
At the end of the day though, we can all sit here and argue our point and it won’t make a difference, come football season JT will be in a green and white uniform. I won’t be rooting for him while he is there, but I also won’t boo him when he comes to the stadium. Taylor did a lot, not only for our team, but also for our community through his Jason Taylor Foundation and for that he will always hold a special place in my heart. I hope the Dolphins will honor him when he does decide to retire and I hope they give him the opportunity to retire as a Dolphin because he has earned it. When that day comes I will cheer for him again, until then I have no choice but to root against him.