The Jets want to know before Thursday’s draft if Jason Taylor will accept their free-agent contract offer, because his decision might, in at least some way, affect their draft decisions.
Taylor’s preference would be to wait until after the draft because, according to people close to the Dolphins’ star pass-rush specialist, his preference is to stay with Miami. The Dolphins have told him they will not even discuss a new contract for him until after the draft.
The Dolphins’ hard-line stance has annoyed Taylor to the point that he went and visited the rival Jets, who schmoozed him enough that he strongly is considering a move north.
Taylor returned from a short vacation in Costa Rica on Sunday night and, according to someone who knows him, he is expected to make a decision on whether to join the Jets before Thursday’s draft as a courtesy.
The Jets said they have not set a deadline for Taylor to make a decision, though general manager Mike Tannenbaum did say last week, “My expectations would be that we would have that situation resolved one way or the other [before the draft].
“We’ve had good discussions with Jason,” Tannenbaum said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen there. I don’t think it’s going to be hugely determinative of what we do [in the draft] because I still want the best player at the end of the day. Could [Taylor’s decision] be a small factor? Maybe a small tiebreaker.”
The Jets have offered Taylor a two-year deal worth about $3.5 million. Taylor’s dilemma is that, should he opt not to join the Jets, he runs the risk of never getting an offer from the Dolphins, who have been treating him with rather curious indifference.
Jets coach Rex Ryan told Taylor’s agent (and presumably Taylor as well) that he guarantees Taylor 12 sacks in 2010 because he will move him all over the line of scrimmage to utilize his pass-rushing skills.
