The Jacksonville Jaguars today signed veteran running back Fred Taylor to a one-day contract so that he could retire as a Jaguar. Taylor will be placed on the reserve/retired list.
Taylor, the club's first round draft pick in 1998, started 136 of 140 games in 11 seasons with the Jaguars and led the team in rushing in eight of his 11 seasons. He was released by the Jaguars in 2009 and played his final two seasons (13 games) with the New England Patriots.
Taylor ranks 15thin NFL history for most rushing yards with career totals of 2,534 carries for 11,695 yards and 66 rushing touchdowns in 153 games. He is fifth in NFL history with 334 rushes of 10-plus yards. He started 137 of 153 games in his career.
Taylor is the Jaguars career (11,271), single-season (1,572, 2003) and single-game (234, 11/19/00 at Pittsburgh) rushing leader. In addition, Taylor ranks third in franchise history with 286 receptions for 2,361 yards. He holds the franchise record for 100-yard rushing games (48), total touchdowns (70), yards from scrimmage (13,632) and all-purpose yards. He has played in seven of the club's 11 playoff games. He played against all 32 NFL teams and recorded a 100-yard rushing game against 24 different NFL teams.
As a rookie in 1998, Taylor set a franchise record by a rookie with 1,223 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. He posted a career-high 1,572 yards on the ground in 2003. He led a Jaguars a rushing attack that rushed for two of the three highest totals in team history as they finished with 2,391 yards in 2007 and a franchise-record 2,541 in 2006.
In 2007, Taylor earned the only Pro Bowl trip of his career as he ranked fifth in the AFC with 1,202 rushing yards and was the only player in the NFL to record five consecutive 100-yard rushing games. He scored his 70thcareer touchdown at Houston on Dec. 1, 2008 to set a franchise record, surpassing Jimmy Smith (69 TDs).
