MIAMI – Jason Taylor’s ready to hang it up, while the New York Jets are desperate to keep playing.

Taylor plans to retire after Sunday’s season finale for the Miami Dolphins. They’ll try to send him out with a win against the Jets, who need a victory to keep alive their slim hopes of making the playoffs.

Even if the Jets win, to earn a post-season berth they’ll also need losses Sunday by Cincinnati, Tennessee and either Denver or Oakland.

“This is the first time I have ever been in a situation like this,” said receiver Plaxico Burress, a 10-year veteran. “If we do get in, great. If things don’t work out, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.”

The Jets (8-7) lost control of their destiny when they were beaten last week by the Giants 29-14. Now the Jets are in danger of missing the playoffs after reaching the AFC championship game each of the past two years, and elimination could come at the hands of the AFC East rival Dolphins (5-10).

“It would be beautiful to ruin their playoff dreams,” Miami defensive end Kendall Langford said. “We’re playing for pride. They’re playing for a playoff spot.”

The teams meet in a regular-season finale for the first time since 2008, when the Dolphins won to clinch their only division title since 2000. That game eliminated the Jets from playoff contention.

This year the Dolphins have been consigned to a spoiler’s role since Halloween, thanks to their 0-7 start. Taylor’s retirement announcement this week provided some additional motivation for the last game.

The NFL’s active sack leader spent 13 of his 15 seasons with Miami, made the Pro Bowl six times and ranks with the greatest players in franchise history.

“His presence will be missed, not only in our locker room, but in this organization,” receiver Brandon Marshall said. “Those guys are once-in-a-lifetime guys. We would love for him to go out with a win.”

Coincidentally, Taylor played last season for the Jets before rejoining the Dolphins.

“He was a great teammate, and we loved having him here,” Jets tight end Dustin Keller said. “But they’re going to want to send him off with a big win, and we can’t let that happen. We know what kind of player he is and what he’s capable of, and we can’t let him disrupt the game.”

Taylor has 16 1/2 of his 139 1/2 sacks against the Jets, although he managed none when the teams met in October. New York won 24-6, and while the Dolphins have been a much better team lately, they’ll be without 1,000-yard rusher Reggie Bush because of a knee injury.

The Dolphins took a 17-point lead at New England last week before losing 27-24, which left them 0-5 in games decided by a field goal or less. The Jets’ loss to the Giants carried even more sting, because it may wind up costing them a playoff berth.

Coach Rex Ryan declared months ago that these Jets are even more talented than the two teams he took to the AFC title game. But New York has given up 74 points while losing the past two games, and the offence was so out of sorts against the Giants that Mark Sanchez was forced to throw a career-high 59 passes. The Jets rank 27th in the NFL in yardage, stirring speculation about offensive co-ordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s job security.

With typical bravado, Ryan insisted the season might yet be salvaged.

“We can do some damage if we get into the playoffs,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, because I think we play excellent defence, I think we can run the football, and I think that’s what you have to do this time of year.”

But getting to the post-season is now a long shot. Three of the other games that will determine the Jets’ fate are late starts Sunday, which means that if they win, the Jets will likely be flying home when they learn whether their season is over.

“We’re just focused on the things we can control, and that’s trying to play well against Miami and coming up with a win,” Sanchez said. “After that, we’ll see what happens. Hopefully we get a win and on the plane we find out everything worked out in our favour. But all we can control is winning.”

The Dolphins, meanwhile, are bound for another off-season of change. Coach Tony Sparano was fired Dec. 12, and the next coach will be Miami’s seventh since the start of 2004. With a losing record for the third consecutive year — the Dolphins’ first such stretch since the 1960s — a roster shake-up is likely, too.

Given his team’s situation, the 37-year-old Taylor decided the time was right to call it quits. He’ll do it after playing his 204th game for the Dolphins, more than anyone aside from Dan Marino.

“It’s great to have a chance to walk away in front of your home crowd in a city that means a lot to you against an opponent that you’ve had a tremendous history against,” Taylor said. “I want to win the game, but not so I can say I won my last game. This is not about Jason Taylor and my career. There are guys in the locker-room that are fighting for jobs, fighting for their futures, auditioning for their next jobs. So I’m just a small piece of this team train. I’m going to do my part Sunday to help win.”

NEW YORK JETS (8-7) At MIAMI (5-10)

Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS

OPENING LINE—Dolphins by 2

RECORD VS. SPREAD—Miami 9-6; New York 6-9

SERIES RECORD—Jets lead 46-43-1

LAST MEETING—Jets beat Dolphins 24-6, Oct. 17

LAST WEEK—Dolphins lost at Patriots, 27-24; Jets lost at Giants, 29-14

DOLPHINS OFFENSE—OVERALL (19), RUSH (10), PASS (22)

DOLPHINS DEFENSE—OVERALL (16), RUSH (3), PASS (26)

JETS OFFENSE—OVERALL (27), RUSH (22), PASS (21)

JETS DEFENSE—OVERALL (7), RUSH (15), PASS (5)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES—Mark Sanchez 2-3 against Dolphins, but has thrown
seven touchdown passes and one interception in those games. … Jason Taylor,
who plans to retire after season, has 16 1/2 sacks, three interceptions, three
forced fumbles and three fumbles recovered against Jets. He has faced them 25
times. … LaDainian Tomlinson has scored only two of his 145 touchdowns against
Miami. … Victory would allow Jets to finish with winning record for fourth
consecutive season, a franchise record. … Shonn Greene needs 1 yard rushing
for first 1,000-yard season. … Jets have scored TDs on 67 percent of red-zone
chances, best in NFL. … Only five teams have worse record than Dolphins, even
though they’ve outscored opponents 310-296. They’re 0-5 in games decided by
field goal or less. … Dolphins rank second to Green Bay with 38 completions of
25 yards or more. … Reggie Bush’s average of 5.0 yards per rush is highest for
a 1,000-yard runner this year. Bush led NFL with 519 yards rushing in December.
… Dolphins rank third in run defense. They haven’t finished that high since
1979. … Dolphins have allowed 51 sacks, two shy of the 42-year-old franchise
record.

More In Sports

‘);
$(‘#ody-nextstoryslider’).append(‘Read More’);
return;
}
var _art,_right,wpElem;
var _beenzagged=(function(){
var _u = GEL.env.user;
return(_u.state || _u.yob || _u.zip )?true:false;
})();
var _laststate=(function(){
var _t = new GEL.util.Cookie(‘GCIONSN’);
var _closed = _t.getValue(‘lastNextStoryState’);
return _closed;
})();
if(!_beenzagged){
getContent();
var _slidestate=_laststate==’false’?'handle’:”;
_art=$(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article’);
_right=$(‘.ody-skin .ody-aside’);
wpElem=_art.height()>_right.height()?_art:_right;
var slider=GEL.widget.slider(wpElem,’ody-nextstoryslider’,{
close: ‘‘,
closeCallback: function(){
var _t = new GEL.util.Cookie(‘GCIONSN’)
_t.setValue(‘lastNextStoryState’,'false’)
},
direction: ‘right’,
handle: ‘‘,
openCallback: function(){
var _t = new GEL.util.Cookie(‘GCIONSN’)
_t.setValue(‘lastNextStoryState’,'true’)
},
offset: function(){
var offSet=$.waypoints(‘viewportHeight’)-($(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article .ody-article-bodytext’).height()-$(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article .ody-ob-taboola-wrapper’).height());
if(($(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article .ody-article-bodytext’).height()-$(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article .ody-ob-taboola-wrapper’).height())

Jason Taylor used to despise the New York Jets and their fans. Now he doesn’t want to say goodbye.

The former star pass rusher, released Tuesday after one season with the Jets, told reporters at a golf event Wednesday in South Florida that he wants to play at least one more season — but only for the Jets. Taylor, 36, shared that sentiment in a conversation Tuesday with coach Rex Ryan.

“I want to play in New York, oh, for sure,” Taylor said in an interview aired on 760 ESPN Radio. “I told Rex this yesterday: If I’m going to play, I want to play with the Jets.”

Taylor had one year remaining on his contract, but he was due to make $2.25 million and was cut loose in a move that surprised no one, not even Taylor.

The NFL’s active career sack leader didn’t put up eye-popping numbers last season, producing only five sacks as a pass-rushing specialist. When the season ended with the loss to the Steelers in the AFC championship, Taylor was emotional, sounding as if he had played his last game.

Some in the Jets’ organization suspect he will retire and pursue a career in show business, but Taylor said “he’s looking to play another year or two maybe.”

The chances of returning to the Jets appear slim. They’re trying to get younger in the front seven, targeting defensive end and outside linebacker in the draft. Nevertheless, Taylor is hoping for another shot.

“I had a fantastic time up there,” said Taylor, a longtime nemesis of the Jets during his heyday with the Dolphins. “[It's] a great team, a good, young team with a good, young quarterback continuing to grow up and becoming more and more of a pro quarterback. That’s great to see.

“I had a great time, but came up a little short. It’s not easy to repeat three years in a row in the AFC championship, but if they’ll have me, I’d enjoy doing it again.”

Taylor dismissed any notion of a return to the Dolphins, who made no effort to re-sign him last year when he was a free agent.

“I don’t think there’s a chance in the world that they’re going to call,” he said. “We didn’t communicate very well when I played there. That ship may have sailed, and that’s OK.”

Rich Cimini covers the Jets for ESPNNewYork.com.

Follow Rich Cimini on Twitter: @RichCimini

NEW YORK — The New York Jets have placed a first- and third-round tender on cornerback Antonio Cromartie and wide receiver Santonio Holmes.

That means another team would have to give up a first- and third-round pick to sign either free agent — at least under the current collective bargaining agreement. But the players’ situation could change depending on the outcome of the NFL’s labor negotiations.

The Jets also officially announced Tuesday they had released veterans Damien Woody, Kris Jenkins and Jason Taylor and that linebacker David Harris had signed his franchise tender.

The 31-year-old Jenkins, acquired by the Jets in 2008, has missed most of the past two seasons with major knee injuries.

“I had an absolute ball in New York,” Jenkins said in an e-mail to the Associated Press. “I don’t know what the future holds for my career as of yet, but I am in great spirits and still rehabbing to give it one more shot if possible. I just appreciated the opportunity I was given.”

New York tendered wide receiver Brad Smith (second-round level), quarterback Kellen Clemens (third round), safety Eric Smith (third round), cornerback Drew Coleman (sixth round), kicker Nick Folk (sixth round), offensive lineman Rob Turner (right of first refusal) and safety James Ihedigbo (right of first refusal).