Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Friday, June 20, 2008
Packers interested in Jason Taylor
GREEN BAY (—) The Green Bay Packers have expressed an interest in disgruntled Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, but their inquiries about the “Dancing with the Stars” star have only been preliminary, and a deal remains unlikely at this point, an NFL source said Thursday.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Green Bay Press-Gazette both reported that Packers general manager Ted Thompson made an exploratory call to the Dolphins about Taylor, the 2006 defensive player of the year who suffered through Miami’s 1-15 season last year and has spent the offseason hoping for a trade to a contender.
Although Taylor said in a news conference three weeks ago that he didn’t want to be traded, it seems unlikely he’ll remain in Miami under new president Bill Parcells after all that has happened this offseason.
The league source confirmed the Packers’ interest but said significant hurdles stand in the way of a deal: The 33-year-old Taylor’s age, the possibility that he only wants to play one more year of football with so much potential off-the-field work, and the Dolphins’ potentially too-high asking price for him.
That said, with pass-rushing defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila recovering from offseason arthroscopic knee surgery and two of Taylor’s former coaches in Miami on the Packers’ staff — defensive coordinator Bob Sanders and defensive tackles coach Robert Nunn — a deal at the right price would make sense.
Not only did the Packers lose defensive tackle Corey Williams during the offseason (traded to Cleveland for a second-round pick), but Gbaja-Biamila’s base salary for 2008 is a hefty $6.15 million, an expensive price for a part-time player.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy was not asked about Taylor during his end-of-minicamp news conference Thursday, based on a transcript provided by Packers.com.
Defensive ends coach Carl Hairston said earlier this week that end Michael Montgomery has been auditioning for a possible role as an interior pass-rusher on third downs, filling the spot from which Williams notched seven sacks a year ago. Last year’s front four in passing situations was Aaron Kampman and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila at end and Williams and Cullen Jenkins inside. The Packers also think very highly of defensive tackle Johnny Jolly, who has missed all of the offseason recovering from a shoulder injury suffered last November but should be ready for training camp.
The biggest issue with a possible deal for Taylor is that the Dolphins are believed to be asking for a second-round draft pick in return after wanting a first-rounder in trade talks around draft time in April. However, the Dolphins could settle for a third- or fourth-round pick if they can’t find any takers at that price.
Of course, Thompson is reluctant to part with draft picks, and even those picks might be too much to ask for a player who might only play one more season. If Taylor were willing to commit to play beyond 2008, though, things might change.
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