DAVIE, Fla. (AP) -The feud between Jason Taylor and the Miami Dolphins intensified Wednesday, when coach Tony Sparano said the Pro Bowl defensive end isn’t expected to take part in any team activities through training camp.
The revelation came less than 24 hours after Taylor finished second to Kristi Yamaguchi in the finals of “Dancing With the Stars” in Los Angeles. For weeks the new Dolphins regime, led by Bill Parcells, has fumed while Taylor spent his offseason focused on a budding Hollywood career rather than back in South Florida working out with teammates.
Following a voluntary team practice Wednesday – with only Taylor missing – Sparano seemed to signal the Dolphins plan to move on without their top defender.
“I’m glad we know this. We’ve gotten the information, and that’s important,” Sparano said, adding he knows Taylor “is not going to be in any mini-camps, and I know that right now Jason is not going to be at training camp.
“That being said, we need to discuss the current players on our team right now that have been busting their butt for nine weeks here.”
It was unclear what Sparano meant by “information,” and unclear whether Taylor initiated the latest escalation in the feud.
In a recent interview, Taylor said he was unhappy he had talked “probably less than a minute each” with Parcells and new general manager Jeff Ireland, which he perceived as silent treatment. But the 33-year-old Taylor said he still planned to play this season.
“I want to win period, and I would love to win in Miami,” he said Saturday from Los Angeles. “There are a lot of things out here going on, and a lot of opportunities coming up, but the plan is to play. Football is still my priority. I still have a passion to play football.”
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