Aside from that dark and confusing year he played for the Jets, Jason Taylor may be the most beloved Miami Dolphin since Dan Marino, but the 37-year-old is reportedly preparing to hang up his cleats for good after Sunday's game against those New York Jets. Taylor put in 15 years in the NFL, all but two of which with the Fins, and holds multiple franchise records.
The Miami Herald reports that Taylor is ready to retire, but how or when he will officially announce his intentions are not yet known.
Taylor holds the sixth spot on the list of the NFL's all-time tacklers with 139.5 career sacks (the most of any player still in the league). He also holds the NFL record for most fumbles returned for a touchdown.
With the Dolphins, Taylor holds franchise records for sacks, opponents' fumble recoveries, fumble returns for touchdowns, defensive touchdowns and interceptions by a defensive lineman . He was the 2006 NFL defensive player of the year, a six-time Pro Bowler, the 2007 Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner, and, most importantly to your mother, the runner up on the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars.
Taylor is also well known for his good deeds off the field through his Jason Taylor Foundation. The charity works to improve the lives of disadvantaged children through out South Florida.
Perhaps the only contentious mark on Taylor's resume is his stint in 2010 with the Jets (a team he had memorably trash talked). Though, his decision to bolt the Dolphins may have been the result of a bad relationship with Bill Parcells. Like after that year he spent with the Redskins however, Taylor found himself right back in Miami. He didn't know how to quit us.
Perhaps he can erase that bad juju by helping the Dolphins eliminate the Jets from playoff contention when the teams meet on Sunday. It would be a fitting end to a legendary career.
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