The Ravens gave former first-round pick Phil Taylor a tryout on Tuesday, a league source tells Mike Florio of PFT. A first-round pick in 2011, Taylor was cut by the Browns at his request before the season when it became clear that Danny Shelton would be the club’s starting nose tackle.
Since his release, Taylor has yet to find an NFL home, though he did get a glance from the Steelers back in early September. Had he stayed in Cleveland for the season, Taylor would have earned $5.477MM in salary. Instead, he accepted a three-week injury settlement, which works out to a $966,529 payment. Fiscally, Taylor’s decision has not worked out to his benefit.
Taylor, 27, was a starter on defense for Cleveland in 2013, but only played 555 defensive snaps, serving primarily as a run stopper. While he wasn’t a full-time player, Taylor’s performance against the run still placed him a solid 26th among 69 qualified defensive tackles, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. The 27-year-old then played just 133 snaps in 2014 before being sidelined with a knee injury.
Taylor was the Browns’ last remaining player from the Julio Jones trade with the Falcons four years ago. After his release, the Browns had nothing to show for that deal. Now, in theory, the Browns could watch Taylor line up for the other side when the two division rivals face off on November 30th.
I can’t believe someone would walk away from almost 6 mil. Wow.