I generally don't like talking about this kind of stuff during the season, but I guess it's gotten to the point where it's a big story now so let's quickly touch on it.
It all started following the trading of Chris Chambers to the Chargers for a second round pick. It was on Wednesday that Jason Taylor made these remarks about the trade and the state of the team:
"You can use whatever word you want, retooling, reloading, whatever the heck you want to call it, but it is what it is. We're rebuilding. I'm man enough to see that and say it."
Clearly, he seemed a little frustrated. But who wouldn't be?
So that was that...until HBO's Inside the NFL aired last night. It was during that show in which SI's Peter King, who I think is a very relaible and credible source, talked a bit about the Dolphins. He also talked about a conversation he had with Taylor following the Chambers trade. Here's what was said on the show by King, courtesy of Ethan Skolnick:
King also said that he spoke to Jason Taylor, who reportedly remarked that "everybody in this building is afraid of the R word. We're a rebuilding franchise."
King said that he asked Taylor if he would have liked to have been sent away, rather than Chris Chambers. According to King, Taylor said, "Peter, you're putting me in a tough spot here," alluding to all that he owed this organization and this area.
King, however, closed his report on Taylor by relaying his own conclusion: "Clearly, Jason Taylor thinks not only would it be in the team's best interests, but also in his best interests" to be traded in the offseason.
Alright. So what's important to note here is that Taylor never said anything that could be construed as him looking to be traded. However, King got the feeling that Jason may be interested in being traded during the offseason.
Now with all of these rumblings, Taylor today shot down King's report. Here's what Jason said, courtesy of the Miami Herald:
So Taylor is implying that King misinterpreted his words and made a false assumption. However, these comments today by Jason lead me to believe the same thing that King assumed after he spoke with Jason: that he'd welcome a trade, likely to a contender. In all honesty, can you blame him?
I'm not one of those that want the Dolphins to trade him. Some people have mentioned trading both him and Zach Thomas to get what you can get in return to speed up the rebuilding process. And that's fine. You're all entitled to your own opinions. And though I don't want him to be traded, I wouldn't be angry if he was. As long as the value in return is fair, it would indeed make sense to trade him. And if they do ever trade him, I'll wish him well and move on without holding any grudges or anything. But man, I would surely miss watching him in a Dolphins uniform on Sundays.
So that brings me to these questions:
- Would you be open to trading Taylor? And if so, for what in return?
- Would you hold it against Taylor if he requests a trade?
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