Running back Fred Taylor’s underrated career will officially end on Friday, when he signs a ceremonial one-day contract to retire a Jaguar.
Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union first noted the honor when former teammates got excited about attending the ceremony via Twitter. Taylor played 11 seasons in Jacksonville before finishing his career in New England.
Taylor was a lot of fun to watch play. Jim Taylor once said on NFL Network that Taylor had the “fiercest” running style in the league, which says it all. Taylor’s last truly great season was in 2007, when he rushed for 1,202 yards for the Jaguars team that won in Pittsburgh in the playoffs.
Maurice Jones-Drew was Taylor’s backup then, and has taken over Jacksonville’s short but strong tradition of dynamic running backs.
Taylor ranks 15th all-time in rushing yards.