Jason Taylor is taking his skills to the nation’s capital.
No, he won’t be showing off his dancing skills for the world to see, but he’s going to showing off his sack skills in a new uniform, as the Miami Dolphins have traded the six-time Pro Bowl end to the Washington Redskins for a second-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.
Taylor and the new Bill Parcells-led regime in Miami had been clashing for quite a while, and the Dolphins had shopped him around on draft weekend without any luck.
There were also some rather public comments made on both sides, which further sparked the ‘will they trade him?’ questions. Green Bay had been linked with Taylor for a while, and in the aforementioned draft weekend trade possibility, Jacksonville was in the mix.
There’s no doubt both Taylor and the Dolphins are glad to have the deal done well before the season starts. The Dolphins can plan for life after Taylor and actively audition his replacements in training camp, and Taylor has plenty of time to get adjusted to his new team and new system.
Better yet for the Dolphins, the second-round pick is exactly what they were looking for, and it will allow them a chance to pick up another young, talented piece to add to their rebuilding project, or at least some excellent trade bait.
The Redskins are actually a terrific fit for the former Akron star, though he and Zach Thomas are now going to be fierce division rivals instead of teammates.
Taylor’s acquisition fills a need at right defensive end, as Phillip Daniels went down with an ACL tear in 7-on-7 drills today, the first day of training camp for the Redskins. To be honest, it’s actually an upgrade for the Redskins, given that Daniels’ sack totals have dropped drastically over the last few seasons, while Taylor still racked up 11 sacks last season for a 1-15 Dolphins team.
Taylor’s addition will put the NFC East’s offensive linemen on alert, because now they have to deal with him coming off the right side and Andre Carter coming off the left. Carter had 10.5 sacks last season, but with the attention that might be spent on Taylor, Carter could very well be in line for a career season (his previous best was 12.5 in 2002 with San Francisco).
Back in April, I thought that the Redskins should’ve taken a right end in the draft, but fast-forward to now, and they’ve got one of the top pass-rushers in the league and a veteran who doesn’t need any grooming or training.
Does Taylor’s acquisition improve Washington’s chances of making the postseason in Jim Zorn’s first season? It certainly doesn’t hurt their chances, but I want to know what you think about the trade.
