Taylor WON'T report for pre-season

[Shady]

The Dolphins staff aren't expecting JT back from the sound of it...

DOLPHINS DISCLOSE TAYLOR’S POWER PLAY
Posted on May 21, 2008, 2:56 p.m. EDT

One of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL over the past few months has been the desire of Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor to get out of Miami. Though he made his intentions known privately to the team early in the offseason, Taylor publicly has taken the high road.

But now Taylor’s plans have been revealed. Even if Taylor wasn’t the one to reveal them.

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said on Wednesday that Taylor won’t be participating in any of the team’s offseason activities — and that he won’t be at training camp.

“I know that Jason is not going to be at any OTA’s,” Sparano said. ”I know that Jason will not be at any minicamps. I know that right now Jason is not going to be at training camp.

“That’s what we know. Jason is a player under contract with the Miami Dolphins. He knows that. Both parties are well aware of the information. That’s all I’m going to say about it. . . . I’m not going to talk about another thing about Jason.”

Wow.

Clearly, the decision to stay away was made by Taylor, since teams can no longer suspend players with pay. And unless the team has agreed to allow Taylor not to participate in offseason workouts or training camp, Taylor faces daily fines in excess of $14,000 for all missed mandatory functions.

The situation likely came to a head when Taylor said on an ESPN blog that, after the conclusion of the Dancing with the Stars thing, he won’t be reporting to Florida for a voluntary minicamp this weekend. (Next Wednesday, Taylor will be participating in a golf tournament in Iowa.)

Taylor has said that he doesn’t plan to retire. So the question now becomes whether a trade can be worked out. The Dolphins shopped Taylor prior to the draft, but could find no one who’d satisfy the asking price.

The other side of the coin with respect to any trade is the amount of coin that Taylor would want from his new team. He is signed through 2009 at salaries of $7.5 million this year, and $8 million next year.

We’ve long believed that Taylor wants to play for a team with a high national profile. Though he’d surely like to win a Super Bowl, he seems to be more motivated at this point by a desire to lay a foundation for a post-football acting career, and every move he makes is calculated toward achieving that goal.