The Jaguars today placed running back Fred Taylor on injured reserve after Taylor suffered a thumb injury in last Sunday's loss at Chicago and re-signed running back Alvin Pearman to a contract.
Taylor, who ranks as the 16th-leading rusher in NFL history with 11,271 yards, started all 13 games this season and rushed 143 times for 556 yards and one touchdown. The 11th year veteran added 16 receptions for 98 yards. Taylor, one of the team captains this season, ends his season on injured reserve for the first time after starting 136 of his 140 career games in Jacksonville which rank second in both categories behind Jimmy Smith (150 of 171).
"Fred is one of the all-time great Jaguars," said head coach Jack Del Rio. "He's been terrific on the field. In my entire time here, in the six years I've been here, he's been a stud. He's been really good. So I have a lot of respect and admiration for him, and so long as he is healthy and so as long as his body is in shape the way it is, I mean he's defying Father Time a little bit here and at some point it'll catch up, but we don't think it's caught him yet. I'd like to see him retire a Jaguar."
Pearman, 26, played in three games for the Seattle Seahawks last season after being traded from the Jaguars at the end of the preseason. The 5-10, 204-pounder missed the final 12 games of the season after he suffered a knee injury and was placed on injured reserve. The fourth-year veteran played in 29 games with the Jaguars from 2005-06 after being drafted in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft out of Virginia. He Rushed 58 times for 238 yards and two touchdowns and returned 81 punts for 693 yards. He will wear jersey No. 39.
