DE Taylor accepts two-year deal with Jets has 6 comments

Apr 21st 2010, 08:12 | FFN-Score: 15 points

Booed and despised by New York Jets fans for years, Jason Taylor now is on their side.

The former Miami Dolphins linebacker agreed to terms with the AFC East rival Jets on Tuesday, bolstering a defense that ranked No. 1 in the NFL last season.

Taylor will receive a two-year, $13 million deal, a source with knowledge of the situation told NFL.com senior writer Steve Wyche. Realistically, however, it's a one-year contract with heavy incentives and guarantees Taylor $2.5 million with a maximum of $3.75 million, the source said.

Taylor's agent, Gary Wichard, told the Miami Herald that his client is tentatively scheduled to fly to New York on Wednesday and sign the contract.

"Clearly, this is one of the premier players in the game, one of the premier pass rushers in the game," Jets coach Rex Ryan said during a conference call. "We expect Jason to play a bunch and be a major contributor to our defense."

Taylor, the NFL's active sacks leader with 127.5, received an offer from the Jets two weeks ago. Taylor said he hoped for an offer from the Dolphins, but it never came, and after vacationing in Costa Rica last weekend, he decided to join the Jets.

Long a part of one of the NFL's most intense rivalries, Taylor has a contentious relationship with fans in New York, calling them ignorant and classless and saying their "J-E-T-S!" chant was dumb.

"Do I expect them to hate me some? Sure," Taylor said Tuesday. "We've had a long history of going back and forth. We lost a lot of games to those guys for a few years. That wasn't fun. I was a big boy, and I always came back and added more fuel to it. It's a rivalry. That's the way its supposed to be."

As for how Dolphins fans will react to his deal with the Jets, Taylor said: "Hopefully one day I can walk back in the stadium and not get booed."

Taylor briefly became teary-eyed during a 30-minute news conference at his foundation's offices in Weston, Fla., and he said the situation left him with mixed emotions.

Taylor said the Dolphins offered him an extension last November, then withdrew the proposal before the season ended, made no offer after that and didn't give him a reason for the lack of interest in a new deal. Taylor said he had a meeting with coach Tony Sparano scheduled last week, but the Dolphins canceled it.

"If I was important enough that you wanted me in November, why wouldn't you want me now?" Taylor said. "If I was good enough then, I just don't understand why I wasn't good enough now. But that's their prerogative. They're allowed to make that decision. There is a business side to football, and if they feel that it's better for their team to not have me, that's fine. I have no problem with that. That's part of the game. Just let me know."
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Taylor, the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, said he's joining the Jets because he feared their offer would be the only one he would receive and he had to give them an answer before the draft begins Thursday.

"If I sit here and roll the dice, I could be left out in the cold," Taylor said. "The Jets have given me an opportunity to play. They want me there. It's pretty flattering and humbling that I'm the free agent they want to go after -- a 35-year-old defensive end/linebacker from Miami who has been a pain in their butt."

Because of the league's "Final Eight" restrictions, the Jets could pay Taylor just $1.75 million in base salary -- the amount that unrestricted free agent kicker Jay Feely received to leave New York for Arizona.

Now, Taylor will try to endear himself to fans in New York, the way Brett Favre did in Minnesota last season or Donovan McNabb hopes to do in Washington next season. A few sacks early in the season might do the trick for Taylor.

"I look at it this way: What was the kind of impact Roger Clemens had?" Ryan said. "He was a Red Sox and went over to the Yankees and helped out there. I kind of look at Johnny Damon with the same type of deal.

"So, if Jason could have the same impact on the Jets as those players had on the Yankees and we win a championship, I think we'll all be happy."

Either way, it's the latest headline-grabbing acquisition by the Jets, who have clear intentions of making a Super Bowl run this season after losing to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game three months ago.

Already loaded with storylines for their appearance on HBO's "Hard Knocks" training-camp series this summer, the Jets also have signed running back LaDainian Tomlinson and safety Brodney Pool and traded for wide receiver Santonio Holmes and cornerback Antonio Cromartie.

Taylor provides the Jets with a proven pass rusher who should fit right into their aggressive 3-4 defensive scheme as a hybrid linebacker-defensive end. Ryan also said Taylor's addition will not affect how the Jets use the 29th overall pick in the draft Thursday.

"We're in an ideal situation," the coach said. "We're going into the draft where we can take the best player."

Several Jets players met Taylor during his visit to the team's facility in Florham Park, N.J., on April 8, and said they'd welcome him if he signed.

While Taylor's best days are clearly behind him, the Jets believe he still has plenty left -- at least for a season. He had seven sacks, an interception, three forced fumbles and a fumble return for a touchdown -- against the Jets -- last season.

Taylor played with the Dolphins from 1997 to 2007 before being traded to the Washington Redskins in 2008. He clashed with the Dolphins for competing on "Dancing With the Stars" rather than working out with the team that offseason. Taylor finished second to Kristi Yamaguchi in the competition.

After one season in Washington, Taylor was released after he refused to commit to the team's offseason conditioning program so he could focus on his family.

Ryan said he expected Taylor to participate in team workouts before mandatory minicamp in mid-June, save for a few previously scheduled commitments.

"These are voluntary workouts, but I've got a funny feeling that Jason's going to volunteer to be here," Ryan said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.