Pittsburgh Steelers veteran cornerback Ike Taylor will be one of several elephants in the room during the offseason thanks to the $7 million base salary that he’s scheduled to earn in 2014. On Wednesday, Taylor let it be known that it’s “here (Pittsburgh) or nowhere” for him next season during his talk with the media, according to Jim Wexell of Steel City Insider on Twitter.
We have talked quite a while now about Taylor’s status for next season and there’s absolutely no way that the Steelers let him return on a $7 million base salary. Taylor will obviously be asked to take a $3-4 million pay cut almost immediately after the season is over and if he declines, the Steelers will have no choice but to release him.
Prior to Taylor signing his most recent contract back in 2011, the team allowed him to test free agency and while Louisiana-Lafayette product went threw all of the regular motions associated with the process, it was obvious from the start that he wasn’t going anywhere.
Thanks to Taylor’s comments on Wednesday, he has now pretty much painted himself into a corner. Everyone knows that he wants to end his career in Pittsburgh and that he isn’t ready to call it quits just yet.
I firmly believe that Taylor will be back in Pittsburgh in 2014 and that it’s only a matter of time until the two sides work out the details of a paycut. Consider one elephant in the room already dealt with.
