After 12 seasons, all in Pittsburgh, Ike Taylor has retired. He made it official on Tuesday, four days after safety Troy Polamalu announced that he had played his last NFL game.
Taylor was taken in the fourth round of the 2003 draft, 109 picks after the Steelers traded up in the first round to grab Polamalu. He ends his career with 14 interceptions, 632 tackles, three sacks, four fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.
“Other than having my son, playing for the Steelers has been the best experience in my entire lifetime,” Taylor said in a statement on the team's website. “It is rare, in this day of free agency that is super rare to play for one team. For me to have this opportunity says a lot about how they felt about me, what I gave back to the organization.
“I wasn’t cut, I wasn’t released. It was just my contract was up and it was time to retire. If you want to have pride, well that is the kind of pride I have, being able to play my contract out.”
Taylor was true to his word; 13 months ago predicted that he would retire with the Steelers.
The INK is about to dry on this paper...im a LIFER...#6BURGHfoalldemhatas...will retire as a ROONEY and a LEBEAU...
— Ike Taylor (@Ike_SwagginU) March 10, 2014
Taylor has long been devoted to both the city and the team he called home for 12 years.
“From the time I walked in the door until the time I left, this is where I wanted to be,” said Taylor. “How the organization is, the locker room, you see why we win. When I became a free agent twice it made my decision easy.
“The Steelers speak for themselves. When you talk about the Steelers, you talk about success. You talk about Pittsburgh, the first thing people talk about is the Steelers. There has been pride since the 1970s and we were able to recreate that pride in the 2000s. We went to three Super Bowls and won two. I thought that was the way it was supposed to be. We were loving each other and having so much fun in that locker room.”
It's also no coincidence that Taylor, who arrived in Pittsburgh with Polamalu, will ride off into retirement with his secondary mate.
“We came in together, we were going out together,” said Taylor. “That is how we rock. We came in, we are leaving together. That is my loyalty to that man. I said once Troy does his, I will decide. That is what I owe to Troy.”
We spoke to Taylor at the Super Bowl, where he talked about how he overcome obstacles early in his career that made him into the player that helped the Steelers to three Super Bowl appearances.
“I'm going to miss all of it," Taylor admitted. "I will miss the camaraderie, the personalities. Different people from different walks of life, all in one setting, having the same goal trying to be the best. It’s not like that in the regular world, but it was like that with the Steelers.”
Meanwhile, the Steelers have obvious needs in the secondary, which explains the latest CBSSports.com mock drafts that have the team choosing among cornerbacks Kevin Johnson, Jalen Collins and Ronald Darby.
