Taylor Excited for HOF Visit

General Published on : 3/19/2017

Class Of 2017 Visit Hall For August Enshrinement

Three members of the 2017 Class of the Pro Football including Morten Andersen, Terrell Davis and Jason Taylor will visit Canton this Monday in preparations for their Enshrinement on August 5, 2017.

This will be their first visit to Canton since they’ve been elected to the Hall. The Enshrinees will experience a warm welcome from Hall of Fame staff, receive an exclusive behind the scenes tour of the museum, meet with different committees to plan for their Enshrinement and talk to members of the media.  

All next week, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will bring you exclusive content on all the Hall’s media channels of the newest members selected to the Class of 2017. From the time they walk into the building, viewing the new class banner, capture every momentum touring the Hall and a special behind the scenes look at all three future Gold Jackets on the national televised, NFL Network’s Total Access.

Learn more about Jason Taylor:

Defensive End Jason Taylor was selected in the third round, 73rd player overall, in the 1997 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. Taylor was no stranger to sacking the quarterback as evidenced by his school-record 21 career quarterback takedowns at the University of Akron. That did not change at the pro level and by the time Taylor’s 15-year career was over, he had tallied 139.5 career sacks which ranked sixth in league annals at the time of his retirement. He is one of ten NFL players and three Hall of Famers (Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice) to perform on “Dancing with The Stars”.

Taylor earned a role as a starter early in his rookie season and tallied 5.0 sacks, 50 total tackles, two fumble recoveries and three passes defensed. He logged these numbers despite missing three games due to a fractured forearm. His dominant play helped pave the way for the first of five straight postseason berths for Miami.

Taylor quickly became the anchor of the Dolphins’ tough and aggressive defense. In 1998, he recorded nine sacks and a team-high four forced fumbles)., Taylor earned the first of six career Pro Bowl invitations after the 2000 season when he recorded 14.5 sacks along with 68 total tackles, an interception, four fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and five passes defensed. The effort earned Taylor team MVP honors and was the first of six seasons in which he logged double-digits in sacks.

Taylor, who led the league in sacks with 18.5 in 2002, enjoyed his finest season in 2006 when he was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. That season, he terrorized offenses with 62 total tackles, a team-high 13.5 sacks, two interceptions returned for scores, 11 passes defensed, 10 forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.

A three-time first-team All Pro (2000, 2002, 2006) recipient and a four-time All-AFC choice (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006), Taylor had brief stints with the Washington Redskins (2008) and New York Jets (2010). Taylor was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s.

Just shortly after announcing his retirement on December 28, 2011, Taylor was quickly ushered into the world of broadcasting. Taylor had a brief stint with ESPN as an NFL analyst. He contributed his expert analysis to all of the network’s NFL programing that included, NFL Live, Sports Center, NFL 32 and the Sunday and Monday NFL Countdown Shows.

These days, Jason runs the Jason Taylor Foundation which was founded in 2004. The foundation focuses on improving the lives of inner city kids in South Florida, through education and scholarships.