Ike Taylor

Ivan "Ike" Taylor (born May 5, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL draft, and spent his entire 12-year career in Pittsburgh. He played college football for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.

He was formerly an analyst for NFL Now and other shows on the NFL Network.

Early life Ike was born in Gretna, Louisiana, which is located just across the Mississippi river from New Orleans. As a child, he moved with his mother, Cora, to Raleigh, North Carolina, but he returned to Louisiana as a seventh-grader to live with his uncle and aunt, Herman and Judy Francois, in Harvey, Louisiana. He attended Marion Abramson Senior High School in New Orleans where he played football and basketball. In high school, he played running back, defensive end, cornerback and placekicker. He joined the football team as a walk on in 2001, earning a scholarship prior to the season. In his first season, he played tailback and special teams and returned kicks.

2003 The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Taylor in the fourth round (125th overall) in the 2003 NFL draft. His selection was made despite his inexperience and lack of consistent play and was based primarily on Taylor's rare combination of size and speed. Leading up to the draft, he was timed allegedly as fast as 4.18 seconds in the 40-yard dash at his pro day., However, most NFL coaches and general managers still failed to see his potential.

On May 28, 2003, the Steelers signed Taylor to a three-year, $1.18 million contract that included a signing bonus of $275,000.

Throughout training camp, he competed against Chidi Iwuoma to be the fourth cornerback on the depth chart. Head coach Bill Cowher named Taylor the fourth cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Chad Scott, Dewayne Washington, and Deshea Townsend. He was also given kick return duties by special teams coordinator Kevin Spencer.

He made his professional regular season debut in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener against the Baltimore Ravens and recorded two combined tackles in their 34–15 victory. Taylor also returned two kicks for 29-yards. He remained at nickelback for the remainder of the season after Chad Scott was placed on injured reserve due to a torn flexor tendon in his right hand. He completed his rookie season in with 32 combined tackles (26 solo) and three pass deflections in 16 games and one start. Taylor also had 37 kick returns for 831-yards (22.46 YPR).

2004 During training camp, Taylor competed for a role as a backup cornerback against Ricardo Colclough, Terry Fair, Chidi Iwuoma, and Shane Walton. Head coach Bill Cowher named Taylor the fifth cornerback on the depth chart to start the 2004 season, behind Deshea Townsend, Chad Scott, Willie Williams, and Ricardo Colclough.

On October 3, 2004, Taylor recorded a tackle and made his first career interception off a pass by Carson Palmer during a 28–17 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4. The following week, Taylor made two combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Tom Brady in the Steelers' 34–20 victory against the New England Patriots in Week 8.

The Pittsburgh Steelers finished first in the AFC North with a 15–1 record after rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger became the starter and went 13–0 to end the season.

2005 In 2005, Taylor competed for a job as a starting cornerback against Chad Scott, Willie Williams, Ricardo Colclough, and Bryant McFadden. Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau named Taylor the starting cornerback to begin the regular season, alongside Deshea Townsend.

He started in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener against the Tennessee Titans and recorded nine combined tackles and two pass deflections in their 34–7 victory.

2006 On September 3, 2006, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Taylor to a four-year, $22.5 million contract that included a signing bonus of $6.4 million. The contract made Taylor the highest paid cornerback in franchise history and would tie him to the Steelers through 2010.

Taylor entered training camp slated as a starting cornerback and was officially named a starter to begin the season, along with Deshea Townsend. He started the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener against the Miami Dolphins and recorded six combined tackles and a career-high seven pass deflections in their 28–7 victory. In Week 3, he made four combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception during a 28–20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. On October 8, 2006, Taylor made a season-high eight solo tackles and two pass deflections in the Steelers' 23–13 loss at the San Diego Chargers in Week 5. On November 5, 2006, Taylor was benched in favor for Bryant McFadden after giving up six receptions for 134-yards and two touchdowns to wide receiver Javon Walker during a 31–20 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 9. Prior to his benching, Taylor routinely covered the opponent's top receiver man-to-man. He finished the game as their fourth cornerback and recorded six solo tackles and three pass deflections. Head coach Bill Cowher officially demoted Taylor to being the third cornerback on the depth chart in favor of Bryant McFadden in Week 12. He finished the season with 69 combined tackles (60 solo), 15 pass deflections, and two interceptions in 16 games and 11 starts. He started in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener at the Cleveland Browns and recorded five solo tackles, a pass deflection, an interception, and made his first career sack in their 34–7 victory. His interception marked his third consecutive playoff game with a pick.

2008 Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau retained Taylor and Townsend as the starting cornerbacks to begin the 2008 regular season. On October 26, 2008, Taylor started as the No. 1 cornerback for the first time since being demoted in 2006. Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau opted to have Taylor play one-on-one man coverage and shadow the Giants' No. 1 wide receiver, Plaxico Burress. Taylor held Burress to three receptions for 15-yards and also made three solo tackles and two pass deflections during their 21–14 loss against the New York Giants in Week 8. The following week, he held wide receiver Santana Moss to 14-yards on two catches and also recorded three combined tackles and two pass deflections in a 23–6 victory at the Washington Redskins in Week 9.

2009 Head coach Mike Tomlin named Taylor a starting cornerback to begin the regular season, along with William Gay. In Week 7, Taylor collected a season-high ten combined tackles (seven solo) during a 27–17 victory against the Minnesota Vikings. On January 3, 2010, Taylor made four combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass during a 39–24 victory at the Miami Dolphins in Week 17. During the game, Taylor made a helmet-to-helmet hit on Miami Dolphins quarterback Pat White which rendered White unconscious. White was carted off the field, but did not appear to sustain any long-term damage from the hit. He finished the season with 62 combined tackles (53 solo), 13 pass deflections, a sack, and an interception in 16 games and 16 starts.

He started in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener against the Atlanta Falcons and recorded a season-high seven combined tackles and a pass deflection in their 15–9 victory. He finished the season with 66 combined tackles (52 solo), 11 pass deflections, two interceptions, and a sack in 16 games and 16 starts. On February 2, 2011, Taylor started in Super Bowl XLV and recorded four combined tackles as the Steelers were defeated by the Green Bay Packers 31–25.

2011 On July 29, 2011, the Steelers signed Taylor to a four-year, $28 million contract with $15.15 million guaranteed. On November 27, 2011, Taylor recorded four combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass attempt by quarterback Tyler Palko in the Steelers' 13–9 victory at the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12. The following week, he collected a season-high seven combined tackles, three pass deflections, and an interception during a 35–7 win against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13. At the end of regulation, the Broncos and Steelers were tied 23–23 and went into overtime where the Broncos received possession after winning the coin toss. On the first play in overtime, Taylor was beat on a post route by Demaryius Thomas and gave up an 80-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Tim Tebow.

2012 On February 10, 2012, the Steelers restructured Taylor's contract in order to free up salary cap space and converted $4.95 million of his base salary into a signing bonus. The maneuver freed up $3.28 million in cap space in future seasons.

Taylor entered training camp entrenched as the No. 1 starting cornerback. Head coach Mike Tomlin officially named him the starter to begin the regular season, opposite Keenan Lewis. On November 4, 2012, Taylor recorded a season-high seven combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Eli Manning during a 24–20 victory at the New York Giants in Week 9. On December 2, 2012, Taylor injured his fibula during a 23–20 victory at the Baltimore Ravens in Week 12. His injury sidelined him for five games (Weeks 13–17) and also ended his eight-year, 136-game streak that extended back to 2004. He finished with 32 combined tackles (25 solo), 13 pass deflections, and an interception in 12 games and 12 starts. On September 16, 2013, Taylor recorded a season-high six solo tackles and broke up a pass during a 20–10 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2. In Week 15, he collected a season-high seven combined tackles and two pass deflections in the Steelers' 30–20 victory at the Cincinnati Bengals. Taylor finished the season with 63 combined tackles (52 solo) and 12 pass deflections in 16 games and 16 starts. On September 21, 2014, Taylor broke his right forearm during a 37–19 victory at the Carolina Panthers in Week 3. The injury occurred while Taylor was attempting to tackle wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin after a five-yard reception in the third quarter. While bringing Benjamin down, teammate Lawrence Timmons delivered a blow and made direct contact with Taylor's arm. His forearm was visibly broken and he was inactive for the next eight games (Weeks 4–11). On December 7, 2014, Taylor recorded a season-high seven combined tackles during a 42–21 victory at the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14. He was inactive for the last three games of the regular season (Weeks 15–17) after sustaining a shoulder injury. He completed the season with 16 combined tackles (11 solo) and two pass deflections in five games and five starts.

NFL career statistics Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sack Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds TD 2003 PIT 16 1 32 26 6 0.0 0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2004 PIT 13 1 16 10 6 0.0 0 4 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2005 PIT 16 15 91 75 16 0.0 0 20 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 2 8 0 2006 PIT 16 11 69 61 8 0.0 0 12 2 34 17.0 34 0 0 1 0 0 2007 PIT 16 16 80 69 11 1.0 0 16 3 56 18.7 51 1 1 1 0 0 2008 PIT 16 16 65 50 15 0.0 0 15 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2009 PIT 16 16 62 53 9 1.0 0 13 1 20 20.0 20 0 0 1 1 0 2010 PIT 16 15 66 52 14 1.0 0 11 2 9 4.5 9 0 1 0 0 0 2011 PIT 16 16 44 34 10 0.0 0 14 2 29 14.5 29 0 0 0 0 0 2012 PIT 12 12 32 25 7 0.0 0 13 1 3 3.0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2013 PIT 16 16 63 52 11 0.0 0 12 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2014 PIT 5 5 16 11 5 0.0 0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 174 140 636 518 118 3.0 0 134 14 151 10.8 51 1 2 5 9 0

NFL Network On August 13, 2015, he was added to NFL Network as an analyst for NFL Media, appearing primarily on NFL Now as well as NFL Network shows such as The Top 100 Players. On December 12, 2017, he, along with Marshall Faulk and Heath Evans, was suspended from the NFL Network after sexual harassment accusations against them were made.

Personal life

Taylor makes his off-season home in his native New Orleans.

Each summer since 2005 Taylor has run the FaceMeIke Football Camp in New Orleans for local youth.

Ike's son, Ivan Taylor, is committed to play college football for The University of Alabama.