Well we already knew that Jason Taylor likely wouldn't be in Miami until Thursday at the earliest because he has commitments to Good Morning America and Live with Regis and Kelly. Well, after those, he'll be flying back to Los Angeles to handle some things there, whatever that means. What it means to the Dolphins is that Taylor will not be at this weekend's first veteran mini-camp. Yes, it is voluntary and all, but I'll all but guarantee you he'll be the only veteran not at this camp. Here's what he writes for his ESPN.com blog:
And a lot people are wondering if I'm then going to fly to Miami for Friday's voluntary minicamp. Well, I won't be there. I'm going to be in L.A. on Friday. Got some things to do there.
I know what the reaction's going to be: Oh, he's the leader of that team, and he needs to be there. But, see, there're different types of leadership in sports. There're guys that can talk all the time, and try to lead by saying: "Oh, this is what we need to do, let's go, rah, rah rah.'' They're rah-rah guys. And then they're guys, like me, who lead by example. And people are saying now, "Your example should be being there working out with the team.'' Well, at the end of the day, I will show up and I will do anything I need to do, and I will be the best football player I can be. And one thing you can always hang your hat on is that on Sunday, you're going to get my best effort, and I'm going to run through hell or high water to make it happen.
Now, I do recommend you go and read the entire thing because Jason does address a lot of things. He says the players in the locker room are supporting him. He says that he's not worried about learning a new defense, stating that they will "make it work."
He also gets into the Bill Parcells crap, basically saying it's a non-issue. He says Bill is a busy man and that they are both professionals. And no, he says he isn't mad at Bill.
Honestly, for the first time, Taylor is saying all the right things - at least to Dolphin fans. Well, except for the fact that he won't be at this weekend's mini-camp. So that means this coaching staff won't get to see Taylor with the team until the mandatory mini-camp from June 6 to June 8.
I'm not too thrilled about this, to be honest. But as long as he comes in here in June, works his tail off, and plays like the usual Jason, I guess I'll be able to live with him missing all these workouts, OTAs, and camps.
Thoughts?