ESPN - Jason Taylor isn't ruling out a return to the Miami Dolphins, but the pass rusher couldn't conceal his delight over reading comments that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft would love to add him. "I did hear that. I can't lie," Taylor said Sunday night on the red carpet of an event for the Jason Taylor Foundation at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. "I have not talked to Robert Kraft. We'll leave it at that..." Kraft, speaking Tuesday at the NFL owners' meeting in Dana Point, Calif., was asked about the possibility of signing Taylor. "Great player," Kraft told Yahoo! Sports. "I'm sure that can happen if he wants it." Patriots receiver Wes Welker seconded that notion. Welker, a former teammate of Taylor's in Miami, attended Sunday's charity function. "Jason's a great player, so the more great players you can add to a team the better off you're going to be," Welker said... "I'm kind of nudging him a little bit, but at the same time he's got to do what's best for him and his family."

Ross and Rachel. Niles and Daphne. Sam and Diane. Me and Kati Cawley. Taylor and Kraft. Sometimes you see two people who are fated to be together but insist on going through this long, drawn out courtship dance until you just yell "Shut up and do it already!" Taylor has always been destined to be a Patriot. It's been obvious for years now. He's a tough, cerebral, versatile, articulate player. The perfect Patriot. While he was languishing with some of those mediocre-to-horrible Dolphins teams, he always worked, always hustled but always always saved his best games for the Patriots. Tom Brady wakes Gisele up screaming Taylor's name in his sleep. Matt Light's kids wear Taylor masks at Halloween to terrify dad. And all the time you saw Jason laboring under a conga line of buffoons and frauds like Dave Wannstadt, Nick Saban and Cam Cameron, you could see the look on his face, longing to be on the other sideline to playing football for a true football player's football coach. And the respect from Belichick is obviously mutual. I'm still not ruling out the Julius Peppers thing, just because I think the stumbling blocks like compensation and salary cap hit can always be worked out. But Jason Taylor to the Pats is just too easy and makes too much sense not to happen. For everyone involved, this thing should get done, now. It's fate.