Jason Taylor (American football)

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 lineman 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.