On Tuesday, the Cleveland Browns parted ways with defensive tackle Phil Taylor and on Wednesday, the former first-round draft pick reportedly visited with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Cut by Browns on Tuesday, Phil Taylor visited the Steelers on Wednesday, per league source.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 2, 2015
Taylor, 27, underwent two surgeries on his right knee last season and as a result, only played in five games. He reportedly missed nearly all of the Browns offseason program this year and didn’t play in any preseason games until just last week. That playing time, however, consisted of just 11 snaps.
“It looked to me like he was favoring the knee,” said one pro personnel director who watched the tape of Taylor against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to the Chicago Tribune. “When you have a big guy like that with a knee injury, the concern is they’re not going to be able to protect themselves.”
The Browns reportedly reached an injury settlement with Taylor, who was due a guaranteed $5.477 million this season.
The Steelers are likely doing their due diligence with Taylor and more than anything else, checking out the condition of his knees. The team generally only keeps six defensive linemen on their 53 man roster and with five of those spots already spoken for, signing Taylor would likely result in rookie draft pick L.T. Walton being waived and signed to the practice squad.
Here's 1 of Phil Taylor's 11 snaps from last week. He's the 1 pushed 8 yards backwards. #Steelers #Browns pic.twitter.com/h815gfyTye
— Steelers Depot (@Steelersdepot) September 2, 2015
