JT is Back

After five hours of absorbing the news that Jason Taylor signed a 1-year, up to 1.5 million dollar deal with the Fins, it's STILL HARD for me to put my thoughts together, not just on the move, but how it came together.

So thankfully my good buddy Evan Cohen summed it up best on his ESPN 760 show today: "I don't think there's ever been a move rumored for months that I'm this shocked actually happened."

I couldn't agree more. I never thought 99 would end up in aqua and orange again.

Sure, I could buy that all things equal, JT would choose a return to the Dolphins. It's his home, it's his family, and it's where he built his legacy. But just like most other superstars, I thought he would also adhere to his wishes when asking for a trade last year. I figured an opportunity to win a championship with New England would be too good to pass up. An opportunity to conclude his career as a "Belichick guy." An opportunity to morph himself from a on-the bubble Hall of Famer to a first-ballot Cantoner.

And I truly did not think that Bill Parcells and the Fins wanted JT back. Sure, they need another outside pass rusher, and didn't snare one in the draft. But beyond the rift and any sort of lingering feelings, the Tuna(or the Big Kahuna as someone on my former station called him today) is all about bringing in his guys and eliminating distractions. His well documented number one no-no is no celebrity player. Just ask kicker Jay Feely, fired for amongst other things, talking to the media too much. Jason Taylor automatically becomes the face of the DOlphins franchise. Even if Cameron Wake plays 75 percent of the snaps at his position. And this team cut one of it's four core veteran leaders(as named by Tony Sparano a bunch of times last year) Vonnie Holliday, to pave the way for more snaps for younger players like Merling and Langford. Now, they are bringing in a 34 going on 35-year old player to depending on whether he plays more DL or OLB in the 3-4, take away snaps from potentially three younger players?

Listen, as a Dolfan, I'm all for bringing in Jason Taylor, even if I think he could be at this stage of his career, a situational pass rusher and nothing else. At the very least, he bolstered their depth and at most, he and Joey Porter could be a lethal sack duo, in addition to the frontline(It's also possible they could trade Porter now too.) The players want him back. He's reportedly been a self-participant in the Dolphins off-season program, getting the regime from Sparano. He'll make the younger guys better. He'll help sell tickets and jerseys. It will be great to see JT end his career here, and passing up an extra 7 mil to play for the organization and fan base he loves is a nice feel-good story.

And for Patriot haters, it leaves them without a replacement for Mike Vrabel. Especially since my roommate, as plugged in with Belichickville as anyone, says Julius Peppers is not an option anymore.

But there's still a lot of questions that I would love to get answers to:

-Did Parcells really have interest all along and he was pulling a major smokescreen to try and screw around with the Patriots?

-Is this only a keep him away from New England and get him on the cheap move?

-Did Stephen Ross ask for this to happen?

-And will Parcells call him "Jason Taylor", "JT", or "The Player?