Jaguars' mistake could be big break for classy Taylor

When Fred Taylor came to the Jacksonville Jaguars as a first-round pick in 1998, he was shy and introverted, a player who seemed naïve to the ways of the world.

He leaves a mature man, a player I respect as much as any in the NFL.

Taylor is 16th on the all-time rushing list with 11,271 yards, all with the Jags. (US Presswire)

The Jaguars announced Monday they are releasing Taylor, a move aimed at getting younger at the position and one that probably had something to do with his $5 million salary.

It won't seem right not seeing the Jaguars' No. 28 jersey with the name Taylor on the back.

He's the face of the franchise.

Now it's smeared with mud.

This isn't the right move. For a team that is doing all it can to reclaim a lost fan base, it makes no sense to release a class act like Taylor. Aging backs tend lose it, but that's not the case here.

Taylor can still run.

And the locker room needs him. There are too many players on the roster who don't care.

And they're releasing one who does?

Taylor didn't have a good season in 2008, but none of the team's backs did, including Maurice Jones-Drew, the favored son. Taylor is 33, so age is a concern, but he takes care of his body as well as any player in the league.

He averaged 3.8 per rush last season, but a lot of that had to do with a bad offensive line and facing defenses loaded up to stop the run, because the Jaguars don't throw it well enough to scare the safeties away.

I still think Taylor is a home-run runner. He just needs to get with a team that features the pass to set up the run. He's a lot like Barry Sanders used to be. You're not going to get runs of 4, 4, 6, 5, and 8 yards. You might get 2, 5 and then 67.

There are two teams that would seem to be perfect fits for Taylor: Indianapolis and Arizona. They pass to set up the run, and they would give Taylor the chance to run in air, which is when he's at his best. Spread a defense out and give him creases to run.

Taylor is 16th on the all-time rushing list with 11,271 yards. He has said he wants to play at least until he can move past Jim Brown, 1,041 yards away, on the all-time list.

I've always been a big believer in young vs. old at running back. But I also know when an old guy can still play. Taylor can.

He won't look right in another team's uniform. Taylor is the Jaguars, even if the city never truly embraced him the way a star should be embraced, strange considering he played at the University of Florida.

When I was the beat guy covering him in his early years, I got Taylor to say he would rush for 2,000 yards one season. It was a story we now laugh about because he said I tricked him.

Taylor always said he would watch what he said after that. He never did. He might have been the most candid player I've dealt with in my years covering the league.

He truly hated the Fragile Fred moniker, which really wasn't fair. In 2001, he missed 14 games, but the team hung him out because they said he would be back sooner rather than later. The reality was he tore a muscle from a bone in his abdomen. He was never coming back, yet that led to the Fragile Fred name.

From 2002 thru last season, Taylor started 100 of a possible 112 games. Is that Fragile?

Taylor was never appreciated by the national media as much as he should have been because he played in Jacksonville. The opposing players are a different story. They raved about him.

After the Colts defeated the Jaguars on a Monday night last season, I walked out of the stadium talking to several Colts defenders. They were talking about Maurice Jones-Drew, and how tough he was. So, out of curiosity, I asked them if they thought Jones-Drew was better than the aging Taylor.

"Hell no," they all shouted.

Hell no is right. It's too bad the Jaguars don't realize it. But in the end, it might be best for Taylor.

Maybe he lands with a team that can help him get the due he deserves.

He leaves Jacksonville as two things: One of the great runners of our time and a wide-eyed kid who has matured into a good man.

Of the two, I bet Taylor is most proud of the latter.