Jason Paul Taylor (born September 1, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), spending the majority of his career with the Miami Dolphins. He is currently the defensive ends coach for the Miami Hurricanes. Over the course of his 15-year NFL career, Taylor played for the Dolphins for 13 years in three separate stints (1997–2007, 2009, 2011), and also played a season each for the Washington Redskins (2008) and the New York Jets (2010).
Taylor was a four-year letterman and three-year starter playing college football for the Akron Zips before being selected by the Dolphins in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft with the 73rd overall pick.
Taylor won the Dolphins Team Newcomer of the Year award during his rookie season in 1997, and from then on, quickly established himself as one of the league's best performing defensive ends and pass-rushers in NFL history. He is currently ranked first in Dolphins history for the most games played by a defensive player in team history, with 204 games (including a defensive team record 130 consecutive games), and is also the Miami Dolphins all-time sack leader with 131 sacks. Overall, Taylor is currently 7th on the NFL all-time career sacks list with 139.5 sacks. Taylor is tied for 3rd most forced fumbles of all time with 48, and is the all-time leader in fumble return touchdowns with six, and interceptions returned for touchdowns by a defensive end with three, while his 246 fumble return yards are the 4th-highest total in NFL history. With nine career defensive touchdowns scored, he is also the all-time leader in that category for defensive linemen. He officially announced his retirement on December 28, 2011.
Throughout his career with the Dolphins, Taylor won numerous team awards including a team record four Dolphins Team MVP awards (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006), and a team record four Dolphins Team Leadership Awards (2002, 2006–2007, 2009). Along with being a six-time Pro Bowl selection, four-time first (3) or second (1) team All-Pro, a two-time NFL Alumni Defensive Linemen of the Year (2005–2006), and the NFL Alumni Pass-Rusher of the Year in 2000, Taylor was also a two-time AFC Defensive Player of the Year (2002, 2006), and was also named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2006. He was named the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2007, selected to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, and enshrined into the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll in 2012. In 2017, Taylor was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Jason Taylor grew up around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and played high school football for Woodland Hills High School. He was homeschooled from grades 10 through 12.
While attending the University of Akron, Taylor was a four-year letterman and three-year starter for the Akron Zips football team. He recorded 279 tackles, 21 sacks, seven fumbles recovered, and three interceptions in his college career. He was a two-time first-team All-Mid-American Conference selection as a junior and senior, as well as an All-America pick as a junior. As a junior, he played weakside linebacker and moved to left defensive end as a senior. In 1996, he earned National Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against Virginia Tech when he posted 12 tackles, two sacks, two fumble recoveries, three stops for loss and tackled a punt returner in the end zone for a safety.
Taylor also started for the Akron Zips men's basketball team. In 2004, he became the third person ever inducted into Akron's Ring of Honor. He majored in political science and criminal justice.
Taylor was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the third round (73rd pick overall) of the 1997 NFL draft. Taylor signed a four-year deal worth approximately $1.3 million in July 1997. From there he established himself as one of the premier defensive ends in the league. He became a starter in his rookie season and recorded five sacks and forced two fumbles.
The following season, 1998, Taylor recorded nine sacks and batted away eight passes. In 1999 Taylor grabbed the first of his eight career NFL interceptions.
On April 15, 2000, Taylor, a restricted free agent, received a one-year tender that earned him $1.027 million in 2000. Taylor responded with 73 tackles, 14.5 sacks, and 6 passes batted for the Dolphins that season. His performance was rewarded with his first selection to the Pro Bowl.
On July 24, 2001, he signed a six-year, $42 million contract to remain with the Dolphins. The new contract replaced the one-year, $5.39 million deal the Dolphins tendered Taylor in February 2001, when he was designated their franchise player. In 2001 Taylor recorded 70 tackles (15 for a loss), 8.5 sacks and swatted away eight passes.
In 2002, Taylor led the NFL and tied the Dolphin team record for sacks with 18.5. He also forced seven fumbles and knocked down eight more passes to go with his 69 tackles. He was a consensus All-Pro selection and returned to the Pro Bowl. The next season (2003) Taylor followed up his All-Pro performances with a 13-sack season.
On March 1, 2004, the Dolphins, in an effort to create more salary cap space, agreed to a three-year contract extension with Taylor. The extension put Taylor under contract through the 2009 season. The new deal (which replaced his 6-year, $42 million contract that was scheduled to expire in 2006) was worth $45 million over the 2004–2009 seasons, including nearly $10 million guaranteed in 2004. In 2004 Taylor had 68 tackles, 9.5 sacks, batted 11 passes and picked off a pass. He followed that up with a 73-tackle, 12-sack showing in 2005. He also knocked down 10 passes and forced four fumbles.
Taylor enjoyed one of the best years of his career in 2006 when he recorded 13.5 sacks, 9 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and two interceptions (both of which were returned for touchdowns), an effort which resulted in his selection as the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. On January 5, 2007, Taylor received 22 votes from a panel of 50 sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the NFL. Taylor beat Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey, who received 16 votes. Shawne Merriman received six votes, and the winner of the award in 2005, Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears, received four votes. Taylor was also named a consensus All-Pro for the second time in his career.
In 2007 Taylor reached double-digits in sacks for the sixth time in his career and picked off another pass (the 7th of his career, and the 3rd returned for a TD). Five of his FRs he has returned for TDs, which is an NFL record shared with former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Jessie Tuggle. With eight career defensive TDs (three on INT returns, five on FR returns), Taylor became the all-time leader in defensive touchdowns scored by a defensive lineman. He has also registered two career safeties and has two career field goal blocks.
In 2007 Taylor was voted to the All-time Miami Dolphins team in a poll of Dolphins fans. He was a First-team selection at defensive end along with Bill Stanfill.
Miami Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland admitted that there were trade discussions regarding veteran defensive end Taylor. Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio acknowledged speaking to the Dolphins about Taylor, "They had a certain price in mind and nobody in the league was interested in that price". On Monday April 28, 2008, The Miami Herald reported that Dolphin President Bill Parcells was displeased that Taylor skipped the Dolphins voluntary off-season workouts to be on Dancing with the Stars and that when "Taylor walked into a room where Parcells was watching tape, and Parcells ignored him". Taylor was reportedly "incensed". Ireland, on Sunday, April 27, 2008, said that the Dolphins want Taylor back for the 2008 season and regard him as a team leader.
On Saturday, April 26, 2008, The St. Petersburg Times reported that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had agreed to trade at least a second-round pick, and perhaps others, to the Dolphins for Taylor. However, when the second-round pick was traded to Jacksonville, the paper removed the story from its website. Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden, when asked about trade talks stated, "There have been some trade rumors and I don’t think we’re any different than anybody else. When you’re talking about high-profile players, we’re going to pick up the phone and see what’s going on. It’s part of our job."