The Cleveland Browns have released defensive tackle Phil Taylor per NFL.com. Taylor was the last player still with the team from its awful 2011 draft class.
Taylor was also released despite the fact that he was owed more than $5 million in guaranteed money, according to Steve Doerschuk of cantonrep.com. The Browns used their first-round pick on defensive tackle Danny Shelton, who will be Taylor’s replacement.
Not only was Taylor the final pick with the team from the 2011 class, but he was the last piece of the trade that sent wide receiver Julio Jones to the Atlanta Falcons. It’s one of the rare examples of the organization that traded away multiple picks for one player clearly came out on top of the trade.
Jones just put the finishing touches on a contract extension that will make him the second-highest paid wide receiver in the league. It’s yet another failure by a Browns organization that can’t seem to get out of its own way, but this one isn’t on the current regime, who was drafted prior to their arrival.
Taylor played in just five games last season, but should catch on somewhere. Taylor is still a solid nose tackle when healthy.
