On Tuesday the long drawn-out saga finally ended. And with it, the career of an all-time great Dolphin ended as well - as Jason Taylor signed with the Jets, ending his outstanding Dolphin career.
I really don't want to harp on this any more than we need to because I feel like this story has already been beaten to death. But this story does deserve the attention it's been getting. Why? Because the Dolphins essentially disrespected Jason Taylor and all but forced him to leave.
First we heard Taylor's agent confirm on the radio that Taylor wanted to remain a Dolphin, but the offer never came:
"[The Dolphins] made no commitment to him. And he made a total commitment to them. If there was an offer, I promise you he would have signed it last week."
Now I know Dan Le Batard claims that the Dolphins had a $2 million offer on the table. But he also said that this info came from a source that wanted to remain anonymous. To me, that reads as two things. One - he made it up in order to draw attention to his radio show. Or two - the Dolphins put that info out there to make Taylor look like the bad guy.
In reality, it's the Dolphins who were the bad guys.
In his press conference on Tuesday night, Taylor told the media that "you can't make someone respect you. Respect is something you earn. You can't demand it." It's clear that he felt like the Dolphins didn't show him any respect this offseason - and I tend to agree.
Taylor was asked if he was told why the Dolphins didn't make an offer to him. His response:
"If I was told why I could express it to you. But I wasn't told. Unfortunately there was no communication. I don't know what to think."
Taylor also confirmed that there was no offer made this offseason by the Dolphins, saying the Jets' deal "is the only offer. There is no other offer."
I'm sure you will all read Taylor's comments in the coming day. So I don't want to really spend any more time on this than I have to. In the end, the Dolphins really didn't show Jason the kind of respect they should have. There was obviously a lack of communication. And in the end, Taylor went to the place where he felt wanted by the front office and coaches. Can you blame him?
In my opinion, it's moronic to blame Jason. If you insist on blaming one side, then blame the Dolphins. They seem to think Jason Taylor wouldn't be as valuable to this team as Charlie Anderson or Quentin Moses.
I just hope that when Jason returns to Miami in September, Dolphin fans show him the respect he's earned in Miami - no matter what this front office would like you to think.