I'm as sick of this story as anyone right now.  But it just won't die, and this time that is thanks to Jason Taylor himself.  In a blog for ESPN The Magazine, Taylor wrote the following:

It'll be strange to see [Zach Thomas] in another uniform this coming season but that's the league nowadays. He'll go continue his legacy in Dallas, and I'll go and continue my legacy in…oh, I'm not talking about that right now.

Continue your legacy where?  Where, Jason?  Tell us!

Seriously, this is something he didn't have to write.  This story had seemed to quiet down for now since the draft last month.  But then Taylor, who is a smart guy, just had to add in that little part above.  Think about it.  Taylor could have easily said he'd be continuing his legacy in Miami, and then that would be that.  And even if it wasn't true and he did still want out of South Florida, he could have just written "Miami" just to keep things quiet for now.  Or he could have not said anything at all about his future.  Instead, though, he made that comment.  And there has to be a reason for it.

Perhaps he's just trying to stay in the football headlines while he finishes his dancing.  Or it could be that there is a potential trade in the works (or even already done) that won't become official until he completes his time on Dancing With The Stars.  After all, any team trading for Taylor would likely want to wait and make sure he doesn't suffer some kind of injury while dancing.  You also should take into consideration that Drew Rosenhaus, on his local TV show on Sunday night, said that a "Taylor for Lito Sheppard" trade would make sense for both sides.  Could he know something?  Maybe, though he doesn't represent either of them.

Adding a little more fuel to this fire is a comment by Omar Kelly in his latest blog:

One of Bill Parcells' former players recently told me the Dolphins new warden is a firm believer that when an athlete starts setting himself up for life after football Parcells concludes "he's done."

This is one thing that I tend to believe as well.  And that's why I really do question Taylor's commitment level to this team and to football in general.  But more importantly, if Parcells is questioning if Taylor's heart is still in football, perhaps a trade at some point is still likely.  Honestly, I have no idea or no feeling one way or the other on if I think a trade will happen.  But again, where there's smoke, there is usually fire.  And Taylor's most recent comments in that ESPN blog he wrote were a huge "smoke-maker."  So is there fire?  We'll have to wait and see.

My 2 Cents
I really don't want to come off as a "Jason Taylor hater" or anything because that's not true.  He's easily one of my top 5 all-time favorite players.  But I don't know what else to say other than to ask, "Is anyone else tired of this god damn losing?"  I am.  I can't stand it anymore.  And if you agree with Parcells' belief that once a player starts planning his life after football, he's done, then there's nothing left to say to Taylor other than "goodbye." 

Taylor has always put his team before himself and has always given his heart and soul to this organization.  But that's not the case anymore.  And it makes me wonder if it might be best for everyone involved to part ways and move on.  After all, to turn this thing around in Miami, it's going to take the entire team giving everything they have (even during the offseason).  And I'm just sick and tired of losing.  I want to win.  I want to win badly.  And if Taylor doesn't have that same fire he once had to win in the NFL, or at least with this franchise (and it seems right now that he doesn't), then as much as I like him, he needs to go. 

Maybe this is just me talking out of frustration, the kind of frustration that comes from not having made the playoffs since 2001 and not having won a playoff game since 2000.  However, the feeling I'm getting right now is that Taylor's heart just isn't in this game of football any longer.

But damn, I really hope he proves me wrong.

I hope you all had a good weekend and a nice Mother's Day.  Not too much going on right now.  But that will change in about a week and a half when OTAs kick off in Davie.

Meanwhile, here's what you may have missed from this past weekend:

VETS ON THE BUBBLE
The Palm Beach Post's Tim Graham took a look at which veteran players might be cut prior to September.  His full blog post can be read here.  I just wanted to talk a little bit about the defensive names on this list because we haven't really touched on them yet like we did on the offensive side of the ball.  Also note that Graham defines "veteran" as a player that is entering at least their 3rd year in the league. 

One of the first names on this list is Travis Daniels.  And he'll likely be a big topic of discussion once camp rolls around.  He's a guy who showed a ton of promise in his rookie season, but has tailed off since then due to a lack of speed and some nagging injuries.  Graham says about Daniels and his situation:

With six safeties on the roster (seven, counting Jason Allen), Daniels will need to stand tall in camp.

And therein lies the problem for Travis.  What does this new regime view him as?  You'll remember about a month ago that it was said by Tony Sparano that they would actually take a look at Travis as a cornerback rather than a safety, at least at this point.  So that means Daniels won't be in competition with all the safeties (and there are quite a few), but rather will the corners that are in camp.  Will Allen is all but set as a starter.  So Daniels will battle guys like Michael Lehan, Andre Goodman, Nate Jones, Joey Thomas, Scorpio Babers, and Will Billingsley.  Not exactly a great group.  So Travis should have every opportunity to fight for a roster spot. 

If you ask me, I'd say that the 4 most likely to make the team are Allen, Lehan, Goodman, and Jones.  That leaves Daniels to battle with Babers, Billingsley, and Thomas.  With the experience advantage, I think Daniels has a good shot if he can stay healthy.

Another interesting player on Graham's list is kicker Jay Feely.  Feely had an exceptional season last year in terms of field goals, but struggled with his distance on kickoffs.  The Dolphins have brought in Dave Rayner (who is 41 for 57 in his career) and Dan Carpenter, a rookie out of Montana (read about him here).  For now, though, I think that Feely is simply to reliable of a field goal kicker for the Dolphins to just dump him.  But I'll talk some more about the kicker situation in a future post (hopefully this week).

DIERDORF'S TAKE ON PARCELLS VS TAYLOR
CBS Sports commentator Dan Dierdorf recently gave us his take on the Bill Parcells/Jason Taylor soap opera that the media has been (and continues to) play itself out this Spring.  Dierdorf, as a guest on the radio, had this to say:

Bill Parcells is the most blue-collar guy there is.  And there's nothing "Hollywood" about Bill Parcells.  And I'm sure the mere thought of Jason Taylor missing workouts, and because he's dancing, drives Bill Parcells up the wall.  But I still believe Jason Taylor is an impact football player and any football team is better off having there.

Not exactly any earth-shattering news there, but I think that it's further proof that once Taylor arrives in Miami and does begin acting like a part of the team, then Bill will be satisfied.  And Jason will prove many (including myself) wrong by (hopefully) showing up in "football mode" and having another great season.  Like Dan says, I think it's just the fact that Bill's "face of the franchise" isn't around and isn't taking part in his important offseason workout program, but rather is dancing, that is eating away at Parcells.  Once Taylor gets into Davie, we'll all be happy.

Of course, whether he remains a Dolphin for all of 2008 is an all together different topic for discussion.

Thoughts on any thing below...

Here's something interesting that a reader e-mailed to me, after which I further looked into it.

Earlier today, Yahoo's Jason Cole was on the Jorge Sedano Show on 790 The Ticket.  Cole and Sedano talked about things like "spygate" and the Cedric Benson stuff.  But at the very end of the interview, which can be heard right here, Cole tells Sedano that he was on the set of Dancing With The Stars earlier this week.  Sedano then asks Cole if there's any news on Jason Taylor, to which Cole replies:

"Not yet.  Maybe either tomorrow or Monday there'll be a story on it."

Could there actually be some new info on this JT saga?  Maybe.  Or it could be that Cole wants people waiting for his latest column on Yahoo! Sports and he's trying to just drum up some interest in it. 

I guess we'll have to wait and see what Cole has, if he indeed has anything at all.

Jason Taylor:  Football Can "Suck It"
Alright, so maybe JT didn't exactly say that.  But you have to imagine that's what Bill Parcells is thinking upon the announcement that Jason will be taking part in a charity golf event in Iowa on May 28.  Now, sure, it's for charity.  And that's a great thing and always has been one of the great things about Taylor.  He's always looking to take part in charity events or give back to the community.

But, at some point, doesn't Taylor actually have to show up in Davie and become an active part of this football team again?  As it stands now, Taylor is committed to Dancing With the Stars until he either wins or is eliminated.  Should Jason reach the finals of the competition (if you want to call it that), then he'll be in Los Angeles until May 20.  This golf commitment of his is on May 28.  In between, on May 21 to be exact, the next rounds of OTAs (organized team activities) begin in Davie.  So though it's likely Taylor makes it to the facility for those, he obviously doesn't plan on sticking around.

Now sure, Taylor is a great, great player.  And you can't expect any veteran player to be around all the time during the off-season.  But, damn, shouldn't the supposed leader of the team be around a little bit more than most vets?  And isn't his presence even more important now since this franchise is going through changes, with new coaches and many, many new players?  Taylor is the supposed "face of the franchise."  But you know, he sure isn't acting like he wants that title. 

Listen, I'm a huge fan of Taylor and respect him greatly.  But enough is god damn enough.  How are the young players on this team and the new faces on this team supposed to respect Taylor when he isn't even around?  Here's my final thought on Taylor:  If his mind, body, and soul isn't 100% into the game of football, then I don't want him around this team.  Hopefully he gets all this extra crap out of his system by July when training camp rolls around.  But right now, I'm just not convinced he still has the mindset to be an elite football player.

I hope I'm wrong.

TALKING LATE-ROUND RBs
There is a very good read in the Sun-Sentinel about the two backs that the Dolphins selected in the 6th round of the draft.

Former Toledo RB Jalen Parmele, though, is the one I'm personally more intrigued with.  And the Sun-Sentinel reports that Parmele looked especially sharp, showing a "good burst off the line."  About his running style and being teammates with Ricky and Ronnie, Parmele says:

"I tried to run like Ricky because he ran with power. I expect to learn from both of them and improve from them."

What impresses me more, though, about Parmele is his character and work ethic.  You'll remember back on day 2 of the draft that GM Jeff Ireland said that they felt Parmele would be the team's 3rd RB this year.  Jalen took that as motivation to work hard:

"That put pressure on me to prove I could be out there getting things done and to learn the offense as best and as fast as I can"

I love it when players, especially young players, put pressure on themselves.  Most 6th round picks might not feel much pressure because their draft status just doesn't place any undo pressure on them.  But Parmele knows that he has a roster spot within reach and I suspect he will earn that spot and be the 3rd back behind Ronnie and Ricky. 

As for Lex Hilliard, he's got a good story too, bouncing back from a torn ACL his junior year.  I suspect that his niche, though, would be as a fullback more so than as a halfback.  That means he'll have to battle with Reagan Mauia and Boomer Grigsby for a roster spot.

Thoughts below...

And be sure cast your vote for who you think will be the starting QB in week one, located in the right sidebar.

Listen, I'll preface this by saying that I love and respect Jason Taylor.  He's done so much for this organization, giving his heart and soul to this franchise for 11 years.  He's truly an all-time great football player - and he's an even better person off the field.

With all that said, I simply can't stand crap anymore.  I really can't.  I'm tired of reading about it and I'm tired of worrying about what might happen.  And the media is a big reason why this mess seems to be spiraling out of control.  Think about it.  Bill Parcells and Jason Taylor both have massive egos.  But if this whole saga was kept behind closed doors and the media didn't let it leak out, then this wouldn't be the issue it has grown to be.  But now we are in a situation where neither man wants to let his ego be damaged by "bending over backwards" for the other.

However, now we get people in the media leaking out stories like this one :

Two weeks ago, Taylor took a break from his dancing gig and visited the Dolphins. He visited with teammates in the locker room and, after a warm reception, decided to call on Parcells.

Taylor walked into a room where Parcells was watching tape, and Parcells ignored him. He looked at Taylor and went back to his work without saying a word.

That incensed Taylor.

Considering the egos that are involved here, this is something that should have never leaked out to the public.  But idiots like Armando Salguero aren't also fans of the team.  They're journalists and they don't care what their stories to do the team.  All they care about is getting their story out, not thinking about the repercussions.

And now that brings me to what might happen now that draft weekend has come and gone and Taylor remains a Dolphin.  One idea is the following:

What is more likely to happen is that as early as TODAY the Taylor camp will call the Dolphins and renew its request to be traded. Agent Gary Wichard is scheduled to call Parcells or general manager Jeff Ireland and once again remind the Dolphins that Taylor wants to play for a playoff-caliber team in 2008. He will also remind them the Dolphins are not a playoff-caliber team, no matter what they might want you to believe.

If that renewed request doesn't get results look for more drastic measures on the horizon. If Jason Taylor is still on Miami's roster at the start of training camp in July, do not be surprised if he declines to report.

And if he's on the roster at the start of the season in September, don't be surprised if he threatens to retire.

That's not exactly what Dolphin fans want to hear.  But do keep in mind that this is pure speculation.

However, ever since this weekend, Dolphin fans really have been quite divided on what should happen now that Taylor is still a Dolphin.  Some think that if he actually doesn't want to be a Dolphin, then he should be released so that he can pick where he gets to play next.

My response to that?  Hell no!  I don't care how great Taylor has been, he should not be catered to.

Here's the bottom line on all this.  Jason Taylor is under contract as a Miami Dolphin for 2 more years.  If the team doesn't trade him, then he is required to, by law, play for the Miami Dolphins.  If he choose to hold out, he'll be fined $14,000 per day and will lose out on the $17 million he's owed the next 2 seasons.  Sure, this all seems disrespectful to a player like Taylor, but I honestly don't care.  I really don't.  I'm sick of all athletes feeling like they are entitled to compete for a championship.  You know what?  They're not.  And if this is something that concerns them, then they shouldn't sign these long-term deals.  Instead, they should sign shorter deals so that they can re-evaluate the team they are on every so often.  Of course, this doesn't happen because these athletes would rather get their guaranteed millions and then bitch and moan when they enter the twilight of their careers about wanting to play on a championship contender.  Sorry, but they can't have it both ways.

Some fans are also pointing out how this new regime is being disrespectful towards Jason Taylor, as exemplified by the report that Bill Parcells didn't even speak a word to him when he visited.  Remember, though, that Taylor himself said that he has received text messages from Tony Sparano about his dancing.  So it's not this regime, it's just Bill (who has an ego twice as large as Jason's).

And speaking of the dancing, has anyone thought about how Jason is disrespecting the new regime?  Have you thought that maybe Bill Parcells is pissed off that the face of the franchise isn't even working out with the team right now because he decided to go to a dance competition for network television?  In all seriousness, if anyone is disrespecting anyone, it's actually Taylor disrespecting this new regime by not being around like everybody else is.  In fact, it's probably sae to say that the Parcells/Taylor relationship went downhill because of Taylor and his decision to go dance rather than be the leader of this football team during the offseason.  When you think about it, Taylor should really be the one catering to Parcells and company rather than bitching and moaning behind closed doors about how he isn't being traded.

So what's my solution?  It's simple.  Jason needs to shut his mouth and play.  Use this anger towards not being traded and put it towards destroying the opposition.  Pick up 8 sacks in the first 5 games.  Pick off a pass or two.  Cause a couple of fumbles.  Play great as a Dolphin to increase your value.  Then, right before the trade deadline, the Dolphins could probably send Taylor to a contender in exchange for some great value. 

Everybody would be happy.  Everybody would win.

What a crazy day Saturday turned out to be.  And after a few hours of getting out and not thinking about football, I think I can now better reflect on what the Dolphins did (and didn't do) on Saturday.  And I must say, I really like the direction this team is headed.  Onto a few quick nuggets:

IRELAND'S PRESS BRIEFING

The most intriguing issue of today, the decision to not trade Jason Taylor, is the first thing I want to point out.  About the trade rumors that circulated all day, Jeff Ireland said:

“I was not aware of it. I was aware of it after the fact, but obviously strictly rumor. Didn’t get any calls, so there was no discussion [of trading Taylor]."

Interesting, to say the least, especially when you consider the seemingly endless supply of rumors over the past 48 hours.  But hey, if they didn't get any offers (or at least any they liked), then I'm glad Jason Taylor is still a Dolphin.  No need to just "give him away" for poor value, right?

Other interesting tidbits from Ireland's press briefing:

(On what the selection of Henne means to Beck)
"John's got a quick release, a strong arm, and he's highly competitive. You never have enough of those guys. It’s gonna bring some competition to the position. We like both these kids, Josh McCown as well, so it’s gonna be a good battle for these guys. We like John. This has no bearing on whether we like John or don’t like John or anything like that. We’re in the business of collecting good football players, and that’s what we’ve done."

(On what he likes about Henne)
"He’s a four year starter at the University of Michigan — I like that. He’s a great leader, and he’s got an aura about him that you like about a quarterback. And in doing my homework, he had nine come-from-behind fourth quarter wins in his career, and I think that was more than any quarterback we studied."

(On the trade of Lorenzo Booker to the Eagles)
"I don’t think he really fit our system that we’re trying to put in place here. We fielded a call pretty early in the process about him, and he’s a great kid, he’s a playmaker, but at the end of the day he didn’t really fit this system that we’re putting in place here."

SALGUERO THINKS BECK IS IN TROUBLE

In his latest blog entry, the Herald's Armando Salguero writes that he thinks the selection of Chad Henne is a clear message to John Beck.  Salguero writes:

Beck is not a Parcells guy. Parcells didn't scout him, didn't draft him, didn't sign him. And that makes Beck the only one of Miami's three quarterbacks that Parcells did not pick or scout or sign. Parcells inherited Beck from the previous regime while he went out and got Josh McCown as a free agent and drafted Chad Henne Saturday.

So that puts Beck at a disadvantage. Henne and McCown are not going to get a free ride by any means, but I do believe they rate higher than Beck in the mind of Parcells -- because they were picked by Parcells.

That means any tie on any matter goes to McCown and Henne. And not Beck. For Beck to win the coming quarterback competition -- assuming he's even in the competition, by the way -- he's going to have to outplay the other two.

Give me a break, Armando.  The most negative Dolphins' beat writer strikes again!

John Beck is still clearly in Miami's plans.  He's going to come into camp and compete to start just like Josh McCown and Chad Henne are.  And no matter who actually brought these players in, the best player will earn the starting job.  And right now, my money is on John Beck.  I know for a fact that John has been working insanely hard this offseason and that he's had a chip on his shoulder all offseason.  Now, that chip only gets larger.  For a guy like John, this will not discourage him; it will only act to motivate him some more.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not hoping Henne fails or anything.  I just want to win football games.  And I firmly believe that John will show that he does give this team the best chance to win games, not just in 2008, but also beyond. 

With that said, though, let the competition begin!  It gives us, as diehard fans, something to keep a close eye on all camp and preseason long.  It will surely be an entertaining battle.  May the best man win!

MERLING TO BE DE, NOT OLB

Omar Kelly points out something that I believed from the moment Phillip Merling was drafted at #32.  He's not a potential replacement for Jason Taylor in Miami's 3-4 defense.  No, he's going to battle for a starting DE spot:

Merling will likely push Vonnie Holliday and Matt Roth for a starting spot. Maybe not immediately, but in time. And his addition likely means Randy Starks is the primary backup to Jason Ferguson at nose tackle unless one is added on Sunday.

Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland said the Trifecta wasn't concerned at all about his sports hernia. Defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers went to check him out at his workout earlier this week and liked what he saw. They picked Merling over Auburn's Quentin Groves, who would have been more suited to serve as an outside linebacker. Merling is a straight 3-4 end.

I've thought for a while that this upcoming year was a big one for both Matt Roth and Vonnie Holliday.  Not only will Randy Starks now be pushing them (he can play all 3 spots along the DL in a 3-4), but now a talented player like Merling will come in here and push to start.  Personally, I think it's Matt Roth who needs to be worried the most.

So that's it for now.  We'll have much, much more in the coming days and weeks about all the events of this weekend.

Be sure to join us here again tomorrow for more "live" coverage of day 2 of the NFL Draft.  Look for the open thread to be posted around 9:30 am.

See you all then.

I'm sure these rumors will continue from now until tomorrow night, but here's the latest.

First, as originally pointed out by "Layuma" in this FanPost, the Washington Post reports that the Dolphins offered Jason Taylor to the Redskins in exchange for their 1st round pick, number 21 overall.  The report says that the Redskins are indeed shopping their pick, but the Redskins "don't see Taylor as a goof long-term fit with what they are trying to accomplish."

Meanwhile, the St. Petersburg Times is reporting that the Dolphins and Bucs have been involved in talks regarding Jason Taylor:

Here's the latest tidbit I've dug up through various channels: there appears to have been some discussion between the Dolphins and Bucs about a possible deal that would bring Jason Taylor to Tampa, probably for the Bucs' second-round pick. I've also been told that Taylor is not opposed to the idea because he has informed associates he would like to remain in Florida if traded.

The article goes on to say that it's unsure if just a 2nd round pick would be enough for Miami to make the deal.

As we get closer and closer to tomorrow's draft, the rumors will likely continue to fly.  And I do believe that, when all is said and done, there's probably a good shot at Taylor ending up somewhere other than Miami.  Originally, I didn't think so, but there's just too much talk about it and it makes too much sense for the Dolphins not to do it.

And because of that, be sure to join us tomorrow for our live draft thread, which will surely include tons of Jason Taylor trade talk.

Again, I apologize for the very long downtime today.  As you can guess, more issues reared their ugly heads.  However, thanks to the hard work of our truly amazing tech team, the worst is (hopefully) behind us and we can move on to the more important issues at hand.  And I hope everyone will come on back to our little community.  The past 24 hours have been disappointing because of the tech issues, but better times lie ahead!

CLAYTON THINKS TAYLOR TO REMAIN A DOLPHIN

In his latest blog , ESPN’s John Clayton writes that it’s unlikely that the Dolphins will indeed trade Jason Taylor during draft weekend.  Why?  He believes that Bill Parcells and company won’t get the kind of offer they are looking for:

Jason Taylor is dancing with the stars, but odds still favor him playing for the Dolphins this season. Bill Parcells would be willing to part with Taylor but for a No. 1 pick -- something it seems unlikely many teams would give up. A second-round pick is also a long shot. If you're Parcells, why would you give up the potential for 10 sacks for a third-round pick? Financially, the Dolphins can afford him. Despite being very active in the early parts of free agency, the Dolphins payroll is $104 million, not including the cost of signing the rookies. They have $18.5 million of cap room.

First off, it’s great to hear how much cap room the Dolphins still have, though a good chunk of that $18 million will go to Miami’s draft picks, Jake Long in particular.  It’ll be interesting to see how his cap hit is spread out.

As for Taylor, we’ve been hearing for a while now that the Dolphins are standing firm in terms of their asking price for Taylor.  But like many are saying, it’s highly unlikely the Fins get a 1^st rounder in return.  If the Dolphins don’t soften their stance, Jason will be back in Miami in 2008.

LONG DENIES ANTI-DOLPHINS COMMENT

You’ll remember a while back that there was a story on FOX Sports which featured a blurb that claimed Jake Long did not want to play for the Dolphins.  On Thursday, Long fired back , stating that report was untrue:

“Someone called me up and said they saw (the report).  I don’t know how anybody got that because I never said that. I never had those feelings.”

“I said from Day One that it would be an honor to play for the Dolphins and be a No. 1 pick. I don’t know who came up with that, but none of it was true.”

This isn’t surprising, as it was believed by most that Long wouldn’t ever come out and say that, potentially losing millions of dollars by falling a few picks in the draft.  Like I said when the original story came out, I bet this rumor that Long didn’t want to come to Miami was started by a team drafting after the Dolphins that had an interest in Jake.  Regardless, though, he’s here now (or will “officially” be on Saturday) and that’s all that matters.

DOLPHINS CUT 8 PLAYERS

The Dolphins announced on Thursday othat they have cut 8 players.  One of them is Cameron Worrell (thankfully).  Worrell was constantly beat in the secondary and lost his value as a solid special teams player when this new regime brought in special teamers by the boatload.

Also cut were QB Casey Bramlet, WR Kerry Reed, WR Chandler Williams, LB Marcello Church, LB Mark Washington, CB Jereme Perry, and S Tuff Harris.

I’m a bit disappointed in the release of Reed, who I thought could have eventually developed into a decent 4^th or 5^th receiver.  But I guess it shouldn’t be much of a surprise considering the players that the Dolphins brought in, including Ernest Wilford, David Kircus, and Tab Perry.

I’ll be back in the morning with a post looking at players and positions the Dolphins might be considering in rounds 2 and 3.

Now that the Dolphins have signed their #1 pick, Jake Long, it's now time for the organization (and the trifecta, to be specific) to move on to other things.  One of those things, of course, is the rest of the draft, which as I point out here is very important to the future success of the team.

But the other thing the Dolphins must do is decide on the fate of Jason Taylor.  And as CBS Sports' Clark Judge writes, the Dolphins are already working hard on moving Jason Taylor:

As much I love Taylor and everything he's meant to this organization, parting with JT would be very easy to deal with if the Fins got a 1st round pick in return.  However, it's very unlikely the Dolphins would indeed be able to get a 1st rounder:

That seems to be the consensus around the NFL.  No team wants to part with too much for a 34 year old pass rusher.  But perhaps an interested team could find some middle ground with the Dolphins and give up a 2nd rounder and an additional late round pick for Jason.  In my view, though, if Miami can't get more than a 3rd round pick for Taylor, then there's no need to trade him at this point.  I'd then wait and see what happens come training camp.  A team that happens to get hit by some injuries once camp opens might be willing to part with more than they originally would of in return for Taylor.

But it does seem the Dolphins are at least working behind the scenes to gauge what kind of interest other teams have in Taylor.  After all, GM Jeff Ireland did say the following in response to a question about the advantage the Fins get having already signed their #1 pick:

Perhaps Ireland was referring to trades involving picks.  But there is also the chance that he was also referring to Taylor and his future in Miami.

So just because we got our #1 pick signed, don't think for a moment that things aren't going to get more interesting as the week goes on.  A lot is still going to happen between now and Sunday.