Fred Taylor

Frederick Antwon Taylor (born January 27, 1976, in Pahokee, Florida) is an American football running back for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars ninth overall in the 1998 NFL Draft and continued with the team until his release in 2009. He played college football at Florida.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Taylor was drafted ninth overall in the 1998 NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the first of two picks they acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Bills in exchange for quarterback Rob Johnson. He developed into one of the NFL's top backs in his rookie season and has since become arguably the most accomplished player in the history of the Jaguars. As of December 7, 2008, Fred Taylor has passed O.J. Simpson and Corey Dillon for the 16th place on the NFL's Top Rushers list. Taylor fell on hard times early in his professional career as a rash of injuries caused him to miss 23 out of a potential 48 games from 1999 to 2001. Fans and media were highly critical of Taylor's tendency to get injured, questioning his toughness and donning him the moniker "Fragile Fred", which deeply upset him as he would later admit. Fans grew especially frustrated with Taylor in 2001 after his season ended in week 2 with a torn groin muscle. Despite knowing that Taylor's season was over, Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin listed him on the injury report as "questionable" every game for the remainder of the season, further fueling the doubts of Taylor's toughness in the minds of fans. He still has not completely rid himself of the stigma and the nickname. That year, Taylor's woes transcended his physical problems and quickly became personal and financial. It was alleged following the 2001 season that Taylor's agent William "Tank" Black had stolen between $12 million and $14 million from players he had represented, the majority of whom were University of Florida alumni, and that Black had laundered nearly all of Taylor's $5 million signing bonus, the only guaranteed money in his rookie contract. In an interview with Vic Ketchman of Jaguars.com in November 2007, Taylor admitted that he had seriously considered retiring from football early in his career because of the difficulties he had experienced with injuries and Black.

Taylor recovered from the difficulties that mired his early career to play the entire 2002 and 2003 seasons and miss only the final 2 games of the 2004 season, rushing for over 1200 yards each year. Despite his talent and accomplishments, Taylor had long been ignored nationally and maligned in Jacksonville for his frequency of injuries. However, in the 2007 season, Taylor captured much of the fame that had eluded his entire career. Much of the recognition came once he broke 10,000 career rushing yards against the Titans. It continued the remainder of the year as he concluded the season with a string of impressive performances. Taylor rushed for 100-plus yards in five consecutive games to close out the regular season, the only player to record five games in succession of 100 yards or more in 2007. It was the second-longest such series in his career, behind only that of his 2000 season. Taylor finished the 2007 season ranked fifth in the AFC in rushing with 1,202 yards on 223 carries and led the AFC with a 5.4 average yards per rush. He tied for first in the NFL with four rushes of 50-plus yards and finished with two of the four longest rushes in the NFL that season. He ranked fourth in the NFL with 36 rushes of 10-plus yards. Taylor won AFC Offensive Player of the Month honors for his accomplishments in December. On January 31, 2008 he was named the 2008 FEDEX Ground Player of the Year.

Fred Taylor participated in the 2008 Pro Bowl after being selected as the first alternate at running back for the second consecutive year. He replaced Willie Parker of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It marked Taylor's first Pro Bowl appearance in his 10-year career. He was the first Jaguars offensive player to make the Pro Bowl since Jimmy Smith was named a starter in 2001. In week 14 against the Chicago Bears, Taylor tore ligaments in his left thumb, ending his season. That game may have been his last with the Jaguars. When asked about his future with the team, Taylor said, "All of that still has to handle itself. I don't know how it's going to play out." Taylor has said that it was clear to him that the organization was headed in "another direction" as a result of his reduced role with the team and the rise in his salary that he is due to receive if he remains on the roster. Throughout the season, Taylor and third-year running back Maurice Jones-Drew had shared carries. Prior to the game in which Taylor was injured, each had 130 rushing attempts on the year. The previous season, Taylor's carries (223) were roughly a third more than Drew's (167).

Taylor finished the season with 143 carries, 556 yards rushing, and a 3.9 yards per carry average behind an injury-plagued offensive line. Each was the fewest of his career except for his performances in the 2001 season in which he only played two games. Jones-Drew's 4.2 yards per carry this season was also a career worst. On February 16, 2009, Taylor was released by the Jaguars. The team cited his $6 million cap figure and a desire to get younger as reasons for his release.


New England Patriots

Taylor was signed to a two-year contract by the New England Patriots on February 27, 2009.