Jason Taylor: Going Back to Miami?

Oh wow. This is as intriguing a topic as I've ever seen.

For those of you don't know, Jason Taylor has been one of the most dominant defensive ends in the league since that fateful day he was drafted in 1997.

He hasn't been talked about much, up until recently, but quietly continued to act as the vocal captain of the Miami Dolphins.

Well, until about a season ago.

Last off-season, in a HIGHLY publicized argument, Jason Taylor found his way out of Miami, traded for a single draft pick to the Washington Redskins.

It seemed that he and the new head honcho, Bill Parcells, were not exactly seeing 'eye to eye.'

Maybe it was his fault, appearing on Dancing with the Stars instead of attending the team's offseason workouts, or maybe Bill Parcells just doesn't relish celebrity footballers on his team.

Either way, Jason Taylor ended up with the Washington Redskins, nearly becoming a near non-factor.

Now media reports have come out that Mr. Taylor could be possibly returning to the 'Fins. Needless to say, the possibility of Taylor coming home is very intriguing.

First of all, Jason Taylor NEVER should have left Miami. That may just be me but I stand by my statement 100%.

Taylor may have some questionable offseason activities and he might not get along with Parcells the taskmaster, but he was Miami's long-standing star defensive end.

This is one case in which I think the player would have done much better staying, playing, and ending his career in Miami.

Disregarding the one-year vacation in Washington, Taylor averaged 10 sacks per season over an entire 12 seasons. To put that into perspective, All-Pro Hall-of-Famer, Lawrence Taylor's 13-year career sack total is 132.5.

Jason Taylor's 13 year total is 120.5. If you take away the 3.5 sacks from his partial, injury-plagued season in Washington, and just pretend he had played the entire season in Miami, Jason's total would have been 127.5, or five sacks short of thee most feared pass rushing LB in NFL history.

He has also intercepted seven passes, just two less then Lawrence, and ran three of them back for TDs, one more than Lawrence.

His brief stay in Washington should not be held against him in regards to a possible return to Miami.(Hey, look at Brett Favre/Joe Montana.) His addition to last seasons' AFC sack leader, Joey Porter, would be a total nightmare for every other team in the AFC East.

Some people think Jason Taylor might have lost a step, pointing to his last season in Washington as evidence. That's utter hogwash.

Even though he only played in 13 games, starting six, Taylor was still able to reach nine pass defenses, tying a career-high.

We often forget that it's extremely hard for a seasoned veteran to get up, change teams, and learn a brand new defensive scheme.

I contend the following: If Jason Taylor decides to suck it up, take a paycut, go to the offseason workouts and not meddle with a role on Dancing with the Stars, he may well end up back with the Dolphins...

Yes, even with Bill Parcells still as boss.

You take an 11-5, playoff-caliber team, with the most accurate QB of all time (C. Pennington), weapons at RB (R. Brown, R. Williams), at WR (T. Ginn Jr., G. Camarillo), on the offensive line (J. Long) and on defense (A. Ayodele, J. Porter) and you add Jason Taylor.

Suddenly you've got a strong balance of talented rookies and veterans. There is talent at just about every position, and a team that, based on the numbers, could definitely get to the big game.

I'm fearful that this will become a reality, seeing as how the Dolphins play in the same conference as my own beloved team, the Ravens.

It would be great for Miami fans though. Give him a one or two year contract at most, give him a shot to replenish the pass-rush in Miami, and at worst, your pretty much lock hall of fame defensive end will retire with the team that first drafted and helped develop him into the star he is today.

-M

Michael does not like, has never liked and will not ever like the Miami Dolphins' team, organization or even players.

Joey Porter is a rude, trash-talker who nobody would like if he wasn't the physical beast/specimen on the playing field. Otherwise, he has been writing for bleacherreport.com for over one and a half seasons now. Reach him at: [e-mail]