faba Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Swap for Taylor intrigues team By GREG A. BEDARD gbedard@journalsentinel.com Posted: June 18, 2008 Green Bay - While defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila said Wednesday he has "no doubt" his surgically repaired knee will be ready for the start of training camp, the Green Bay Packers are keeping their options open. After informally asking the Miami Dolphins what they wanted in exchange for defensive end Jason Taylor before the draft, the Packers have kept cursory contact with the Dolphins and have done their homework internally since then. Packers general manager Ted Thompson recently discussed Taylor with defensive coordinator Bob Sanders and defensive tackles coach Robert Nunn, who both coached Taylor with the Dolphins. Both assistants have a fondness for Taylor and would undoubtedly be in favor of acquiring the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. And despite what Taylor and the Dolphins have said since Taylor's press conference on May 31, Taylor is very much on the trade market. According to a South Florida source, Taylor has only pushed the team harder for a trade since he publicly denied making such a demand. Acquiring Taylor, who will turn 34 on Sept. 1, would make a lot of sense for the Packers. The 6-foot-6, 255-pound Taylor was a star in the same defensive system with the Dolphins from 1997-2004, when he averaged 10.1 sacks per season. Besides providing insurance for Gbaja-Biamila's injury, acquiring an every-down player at right defensive end would also allow the team to consider moving Cullen Jenkins to defensive tackle, where the Packers need to find another inside pass rusher to replace Corey Williams (14 sacks the past two seasons), who was traded to the Cleveland Browns. Also, Taylor wants to go to a contender, and the Packers have more than $30 million in space under the salary cap. Road blocks to a possible deal, which likely would not happen until right before training camp at the earliest, could be Taylor's stated desire to play only one more season and what the Dolphins think his trade value is. Thompson would not consider trading for Taylor unless he commits to playing for two more seasons, a source said. Taylor may be open to doing that if he's dealt to the right team. And while the Dolphins wouldn't budge from their demand of a first-round pick in exchange for Taylor before the draft, the source with knowledge of the situation said the Dolphins might do the deal for a second-round pick. Getting Thompson to agree to that might be difficult, as he has been reluctant to part with draft choices. But acquiring a player with Taylor's talent, even for a short time, and putting him opposite Aaron Kampman might prove too good to pass up for a team that was one overtime period from the Super Bowl last season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted June 19, 2008 Author Share Posted June 19, 2008 Swap for Taylor intrigues team By GREG A. BEDARD gbedard@journalsentinel.com Posted: June 18, 2008 Green Bay - While defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila said Wednesday he has "no doubt" his surgically repaired knee will be ready for the start of training camp, the Green Bay Packers are keeping their options open. After informally asking the Miami Dolphins what they wanted in exchange for defensive end Jason Taylor before the draft, the Packers have kept cursory contact with the Dolphins and have done their homework internally since then. Packers general manager Ted Thompson recently discussed Taylor with defensive coordinator Bob Sanders and defensive tackles coach Robert Nunn, who both coached Taylor with the Dolphins. Both assistants have a fondness for Taylor and would undoubtedly be in favor of acquiring the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. And despite what Taylor and the Dolphins have said since Taylor's press conference on May 31, Taylor is very much on the trade market. According to a South Florida source, Taylor has only pushed the team harder for a trade since he publicly denied making such a demand. Acquiring Taylor, who will turn 34 on Sept. 1, would make a lot of sense for the Packers. The 6-foot-6, 255-pound Taylor was a star in the same defensive system with the Dolphins from 1997-2004, when he averaged 10.1 sacks per season. Besides providing insurance for Gbaja-Biamila's injury, acquiring an every-down player at right defensive end would also allow the team to consider moving Cullen Jenkins to defensive tackle, where the Packers need to find another inside pass rusher to replace Corey Williams (14 sacks the past two seasons), who was traded to the Cleveland Browns. Also, Taylor wants to go to a contender, and the Packers have more than $30 million in space under the salary cap. Road blocks to a possible deal, which likely would not happen until right before training camp at the earliest, could be Taylor's stated desire to play only one more season and what the Dolphins think his trade value is. Thompson would not consider trading for Taylor unless he commits to playing for two more seasons, a source said. Taylor may be open to doing that if he's dealt to the right team. And while the Dolphins wouldn't budge from their demand of a first-round pick in exchange for Taylor before the draft, the source with knowledge of the situation said the Dolphins might do the deal for a second-round pick. Getting Thompson to agree to that might be difficult, as he has been reluctant to part with draft choices. But acquiring a player with Taylor's talent, even for a short time, and putting him opposite Aaron Kampman might prove too good to pass up for a team that was one overtime period from the Super Bowl last season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 packers to the super bowl. All you favre ball washers are invited to my house where i'll have gainzo kick you square in the balls. Boo ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 packers to the super bowl. All you favre ball washers are invited to my house where i'll have gainzo kick you square in the balls. Boo ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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