Ever-busy Jets add Taylor, who agrees to two-year, $13M deal
Free-agent linebacker Jason Taylor agreed to a contract with the New York Jets on Tuesday, another bold move that bolsters the NFL's top-ranked defense and takes a fierce pass rusher away from the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins.
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 deal 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 the linebacker is tentatively scheduled to fly to New York on Wednesday and sign the contract.Taylor, the NFL's active sacks leader with 127.5, has played 12 of his 13 seasons with the Dolphins. He now joins a team that he has long considered an enemy.
Taylor, 35, visited the Jets two weeks ago, but he left without a deal, waiting to see if the Dolphins would re-sign him after the draft. After vacationing in Costa Rica last weekend, Taylor decided to go with coach Rex Ryan and the Jets.
Taylor has had a contentious relationship with Jets fans, calling them ignorant and classless. Now, he'll try to endear himself to those same fans, the way Brett Favre did in Minnesota or Donovan McNabb hopes to do in Washington.
Either way, it's the latest headline-grabbing acquisition by the Jets, who have clear intentions of making a Super Bowl run next 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, the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, provides the Jets with a proven pass rusher who should fit right into Ryan's aggressive 3-4 defensive scheme. Taylor likely will be used in a situational pass-rushing role as a hybrid linebacker-defensive end. His addition could allow the Jets to focus on other positions with the 29th overall pick in the draft Thursday night.Taylor recently expressed a desire to remain with the Dolphins, but general manager Jeff Ireland said the team would wait until after the draft before deciding whether to make an offer. A scheduled meeting with Taylor and Dolphins officials reportedly was canceled as Ryan and the Jets aggressively pursued the veteran.
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. The Jets showed Taylor around the facility and took him on a helicopter tour of Manhattan and the new Meadowlands Stadium. Even Tomlinson was part of the recruiting process.
"I pitched my part in trying to get him here," Tomlinson said two weeks ago. "Hopefully, things get done because we can definitely use him."
While his best days are clearly behind him, Taylor still has plenty left. He had seven sacks, one interception, three forced fumbles and a fumble return for a touchdown last season.
"He can do a lot of different things: drop in coverage, rush the passer and he's pretty good against the run," Jets linebacker Calvin Pace recently said of Taylor. "I think it would be pretty positive for us."
Taylor played with the Dolphins from 1997 to 2007 before spending one season with the Washington Redskins. He returned to Miami last season on a one-year contract and said he wanted to keep playing, preferably with the Dolphins, rather than retire.
The Associated Press
