Pittsburgh Steelers veteran cornerback Ike Taylor has always been a workout warrior during the offseason and it shows every year when he arrives at training camp. Taylor, who has worked out in Florida with renown trainer Tom Shaw for several years now, recently admitted recently that he pushed himself even harder this offseason.
“I am working more on explosiveness,” said Taylor in a recent interview with Teresa Varley on steelers.com. “Coach Shaw has gone back to the old school New Orleans workouts, you have to pass out before you come and talk to him. We drink the water, but we are going all the way in. I have been at my best when we had that mindset in the offseason. I said coach put me to the breaking point.”
Taylor had a few of his own breaking points on the field last season with the Steelers that resulted in him having one of the worst seasons of his career. Because of that, there was a lot of speculation that he would be released over the course of the offseason unless he took a substantial pay cut.
Taylor wound up taking that cut in pay, but just because he’s only under contract through this season, the 34-year-old doesn’t sound like he has plans of calling it quits anytime soon.
“Regardless of what my contract says, I am going to stretch it out as much as possible,” said Taylor. “This is what I like to do. I like OTAs training camp minicamp training camp, I like going through it with the guys, I like going through the process. I am not going anywhere. I am lifer. When it comes to Pittsburgh, I am a lifer.”
Taylor missed the Steelers first set of OTA practices last week, but it sounds like he’s back in town now and will present for the second set of practices that get underway on Tuesday.
