MoLewisrocks

I believe the two all salary years remaining on his contract are also $8M+ or so. I do think Taylor wants to come here and would do something to alter that (and he would have to or Bill wouldn't do it). But I also think he is naive to think Tuna will release him knowing that.

On the other hand, I doubt Miami wants to spend that money on a player who may undercut the Tuna in the locker room. He tends to like to clean house and insert his guys or youngsters he can terrorize so that he becomes the face of whatever franchise he is turning around. Huyiezenga or his new partner who will be the next full owner may yet get involved. Taylor has been the face of their franchise for so long they don't want to totally alienate him either.

If they did do a trade Tuna could still spin it as a win for Maimi long term even if that trade was to us - because we would be giving up something too. There only other option in that event is to trade him to some other contender, albeit not in their division, and you'd have to sell him on that since he'd have to restructure for most anyone and be willing to play for them. How it goes will depend in the final analysis on what Taylor is willing to do AND SAY, and if he is willing to go toe to toe with Tuna publicly.

RussFrancis

With all due respect to Thomas, he's not Jason Taylor. He's not a 6time ProBowler, 4 time All Pro, and former Defensive Player of the Year just a year ago. Taylor would absolutely be an upgrade. Thomas is a LB. In a 3-4 scheme, the ILB is not your prototypical ILB as in a 4-3. The guy'd still be able to get after the passer a ton, but we need some athleticism and playmaking on the inside. How much did you love seeing that play he made in the SD game, picking off the pass and taking it the distance? How much of that did we see from that position after he moved outside? You just cant have enough playmakers.

Im not suggesting paying Taylor a major contract. This entire situation would hinge on him playing at the standard 'shot at the ring' discount. But Im not incredibly worried about Thomas playing 'out of position'. Now, if the guy HATES playing inside, that's one thing. But our D was ripping teams up with him on the inside.

mojocaster.com

my exact opinion. Thanks for saving me the typing

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LloydBraun

I predict Taylor comes here for the Raiders 3rd and a 5th. The team has a 3-5 year window where they have a legit chance of winning the SB. Taylor will re-structure his deal and Tuna will give the veteran what he wants while getting back draft picks.

RussFrancis

I was thinking along these exact lines. Hanging on to that 2nd rounder and getting Taylor would work for me. But youre right about he immediate window, realistically. In a couple of years, this team will be without Moss, Harrison, Bruschi, Faulk and god knows who else. We've been on the cusp for the past 3 years. I see Taylor about as close to a Moss type of defensive acquisition as we could hope for.

AndyJohnson

Thomas and Taylor are different players. The biggest disaster in the FA era is to sign guys and pay them based on what they used to be. Taylor isn't bringing 6 por-bowls and a player of the year here, he is bringing the player he is NOW. On top of that he earned those awards as a 43 DE, and as a younger man.
Thomas is better suited to OLB than ILb, and is better suited to OLB than Taylor is.
Thomas is bigger and holds up better at the point of attack. Thomas is better in coverage and more versatile.

You can pretend it wont cost a ton of money for Taylor, but thats unrealistic.

I can think of a whole lot of better ways to spend 6 mill than to take a position of strength, add a guy who is arguably at best a small upgrade, and move another player out of position.

If OLB is A Thomas' best position why would you use limited cap space for a move that force him to play a different position that he is not best at?

If there were no cap, the answer may be different, but any decision under a cap has to made considering the alternative use of the money.

mgcolby

I'll preface this statement with this: I have no opinion one way or the other on whether or not Taylor will or will not come here.

But my thoughts on this subject differ from yours. How many high producing years do you think Taylor has left? 2 maybe 3, IMO. Does anyone think that Parcells truly believes that they will legitimately be competing for a SB within the next 2 years? I don't believe he does, so why not send a guy to the highest bidder regardless of what team it is. It would be in the best interest of his franchise.

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Hey, Bill you're wasting Brady's prime years......oh wait....
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RussFrancis

Randy Moss. Junior Seau. Rodney Harrison. Corey Dillon.


These guys were all great players before they came to New England. And there are others to a lesser degree. These 4 stand out. Jason Taylor is a player of this caliber. He was voted the league's best defensive player just one year ago. And we all know he has NOTHING to do with that team sucking. This is a guy NOT on the downside of a career. Its a great player on a bad team that will be looking to play for a winner. And he'll probably break his back for his new team trying to get that ring. Now, if his best years were 6 or 7 years ago, Id agree with you. He had his best year 1 year ago. He fits the mold. Believe me.

And again. I keep hearing this talk that Thomas cant play the inside. This team was beating teams by 20 and 39 every week with him on the inside. The depth was unbelievable. How could the team possibly suffer by moving such an incredibly talented and athletic player on the inside, an obvious upgrade, while also upgrading the OLB position? And its just my humble opinion, but Taylor at the OLB would be an upgrade. If its about the money, I understand. But Im sure if this thing develops, Taylor will be full aware of a financial sacrifice he'd have to make. And Id bet every toe on each foot that he'd do that.

Rob0729

My gut feel is that Miami coaxes Brett Favre out of retirement for the Jason Taylor for Brett Favre trade to go through. I see that much more likely to happen than I see Taylor in a Patriots uniform next season.

patsox23

I predict, accurately, that threads like this and posts like this exemplify how far patsfans.com has fallen. A 3rd and a 5th? Come on, people, please. This is asinine.