Jason Taylor is dancing with the stars, but odds still favor him playing for the Dolphins this season. Bill Parcells would be willing to part with Taylor but for a No. 1 pick -- something it seems unlikely many teams would give up. A second-round pick is also a long shot. If you're Parcells, why would you give up the potential for 10 sacks for a third-round pick? Financially, the Dolphins can afford him. Despite being very active in the early parts of free agency, the Dolphins payroll is $104 million, not including the cost of signing the rookies. They have $18.5 million of cap room. If a deal does not come to pass, Taylor and the Dolphins have to look at this as a no-harm, no-foul situation. Odds favor him being a Dolphin this season.
Redskins narrow choices: The Redskins seem to be making one last check before selecting Oklahoma wide receiver Malcolm Kelly or Clemson defensive end Phillip Merling. A good portion of the Redskins' front office jumped on Dan Snyder's plane and visited both players Thursday. Kelly did some shuttle runs. They wanted to spend a little more time with Merling. It's pretty clear these are two of the Redskins finalists if they are available at No. 21 in the first round. The Redskins need a third receiver. They have also been looking for another pass-rusher.
Culpepper still searching: Daunte Culpepper said he had a good visit with the Packers and hopes to be on a team by next week so he can attend minicamp. The Packers are looking for backup options at quarterback. Culpepper didn't get an offer from the Packers. Craig Nall is also under consideration. General manager Ted Thompson has been weighing whether to bring in a more established quarterback to back up Aaron Rodgers.
Rams unlikely to trade spots: The Rams have all but ruled out a trade-down scenario with the Saints because it would be too far of a drop to go from the second pick to No. 10. Now, the Saints must concentrate their efforts to get a defensive tackle by trying to move to get USC's Sedrick Ellis. They might be able to swing a trade with the Patriots at No. 7 or Ravens at No. 8 to get him.
Saints still interested in Shockey: The Saints will push to see if they can get Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey Friday. But they won't be willing to part with safety Roman Harper to make the deal work. The Giants are looking for a safety. Sean Payton knows Shockey from his days with the Giants and knows how valuable he will be in their offense.
Trading up: Teams such as Seattle, Dallas, San Francisco and others in the last half of the first round have been flooded by calls from teams trying to trade up from the second round. Some are looking to get from the second round into the first to get a quarterback. Because of the call volume the Thursday before the draft, a couple trades at the bottom of the first round are probably going to happen.
John Clayton
