Less than 20 players in NFL history have rushed for over 10,000 yards. Jacksonville Jaguars legend Fred Taylor is one of them. Taylor ranks 15th all time in rushing, 1st among Jaguars. He’s also third all time in club history for receptions. Taylor fought through injuries his entire career, but endured to play 11 seasons in Jacksonville and then his final two with the New England Patriots.
In an emotional goodbye press conference this morning, Taylor thanked Patriots coach Bill Belichick “for giving me an opportunity to try to close my career.”
“A classy organization,” Taylor added. “They really know how to do things. I learned a lot. It was a great experience. Mr. Kraft and the Kraft family, I thank you.”
Considering Taylor has accrued more rushing yards than Hall of Famers O.J. Simpson and John Riggins, it’s a safe bet he may enter Canton one day.
After Thursday’s 18-17 preseason loss to the New York Giants, Belichick communicated to the media his fond impressions of Taylor.
“I thought he was a tremendous example for the younger players. He had a great attitude, a great work ethic [and was] very professional. I think he added a lot to our team in those two years. He wasn’t able to contribute as much on the field as he or we would have liked, but as far as being professional and doing everything the right way and being a great example – not just to the younger players but really all the players – he was exemplary,” Belichick said before adding:
“It was really a privilege for me to coach him. He’s had a tremendous career. He’s a tremendous player and he deserves all the recognition that he’ll be getting. He was outstanding. [He was] a very hard guy to play against and we were very fortunate to have him on our team for a couple of years at the end of his career. We’ve had several guys like that – the Junior Seaus and the Fred Taylors and guys like that – and they’ve brought a lot to us at that time and we were fortunate to have them.”
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