Another year, another former first-round pick flushed by the Cleveland Browns.
The team has announced that the contract of defensive lineman Phil Taylor has been terminated as part of the effort to get to 75 players.
A first-round pick in 2011, the Browns exercised the fifth-year option on Taylor in 2014. By not cutting him before March 10, his salary of $5.477 million is fully-guaranteed.
With 2015 first-rounder Danny Shelton winning a starting job, the Browns opted to let Taylor walk, hopeful he’ll make at or about that much money elsewhere.
Per a league source, Taylor asked to be released, and teams already are lining up for a shot at the player who made his first game appearance over the weekend after aggravating a knee injury in early November.