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Thursday, January 03, 2008
It's time for Jason Taylor to go.
Zach Thomas, too, if Miami can find a taker.
They have been terrific players for the Dolphins - both certain future Ring of Honor members - for the whole of their careers. But the best service they now can provide a franchise as downtrodden and desperate as Miami's lies not in what they can do, but in what they can bring.
Bill Parcells, the Dolphins' football czar, has to know as much, and ought to tell Jeff Ireland, Miami's new general manager, to put the Taylor-Thomas Project at or near the top of the docket.
Parcells, upon introduction as vice president of football operations last week, said he's in the "talent acquisition" business. So, acquire.
Maybe he could steal a first-round draft choice for a 33-year-old defensive end still as formidable as Taylor is when allowed to freelance and improvise. Probably not, but a second-rounder and perhaps another lower-rounder would do. He should also take whatever conditional pick he can get for a migraine-infected, concussion-plagued 34-year-old linebacker as brave-hearted as Thomas remains after spending too many seasons making tackle after tackle after tackle.
Taylor was a third-round choice out of Akron a year after Thomas was a fifth-round pick out of Texas Tech, and never again are the Dolphins likely to make such worthwhile discoveries so deep in the panning-for-gold process. They have been gems.
And, of course, talent retention is its own important element in building a strong NFL team. But here's an Exhibit A question to ask yourself: Did the Dolphins really err in trading Wes Welker (112 receptions for New England this season) when they managed to pull a starting rookie center out of the deal in second-round draft choice Samson Satele?
What if the Dolphins, already well-positioned for the upcoming April draft, could hold a bundle of picks in the first two rounds by trading the top one they currently hold and Taylor in separate deals?
Miami isn't going to transform itself from 1-15 doormat to anything beyond a four- or five-win team next season with or without Taylor and Thomas, which means planning for the longer-term future becomes much more important than any other consideration. It's unfortunate for both players that the Dolphins were too inept offensively to make their most dominant defensive seasons matter. But the window long ago closed on the Taylor-and-Thomas dream of playing together in a Super Bowl for the only team either of them has known.
A Dolphins divorce might not be all that wrenching for either player, anyway.
Thomas didn't appreciate it when Miami placed him on injured reserve this season. He was offended and insulted, in private, while maintaining proper public bearing. But if the Dolphins decide he's not worth the economic burdens accompanying the $5.6 million he's due next season?
Don't count on Thomas making it easy for Miami's bean counters to fit him into their financial structure if, in fact, he'd just as soon play somewhere else (see: a contending team).
Taylor is of the same mind-set.
His frustrations, on the field and off, have been more apparent than anything Thomas has exhibited. Taylor seemed to enjoy playing for Nick Saban, who used him in the manner of a roving monster in Miami's defense. But he has felt shackled under Cam Cameron, who mostly has pinned him down to strict responsibilities of a defensive end. Neither has Taylor voiced support for Cameron while the rookie head coach's future with the team has been questioned.
Taylor either couldn't or wouldn't even say he wanted to continue playing for the Dolphins when asked the question after Sunday's season-ending loss.
The silence must have been deafening.
Taylor would be more attractive than Thomas in the marketplace, but money would be a greater issue. Taylor is owed $15.5 million across the next two seasons.
There's a starkly harsh simplicity involved in these cases. Miami would be better off economically by trading Taylor and Thomas, and would facilitate its rebuilding process, too, by doing so.
Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga has a particular affection for both Taylor and Thomas, and - if he and Parcells deem reciprocity to be fair - would happily accommodate their desires for trade.
Nothing wrong with sending Thomas home to the Houston Texans or Dallas Cowboys.
Nothing wrong, either, with sending Taylor home to the Cleveland Browns or Cincinnati Bengals.
Nothing wrong with the Dolphins planning for their own future by getting younger. Taylor and Thomas will see their names among the franchise greats when the time comes no matter where they might finish their
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