Travis Lamont Taylor (born March 30, 1979) is an American former college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons during the 2000s. Taylor played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the University of Florida. A first-round pick in the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

, he played professionally for the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings,

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

and St. Louis Rams of the NFL.

Early years

Taylor was born in Fernandina Beach, Florida.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Travis Taylor
Retrieved March 19, 2011. He started his high school career at Camden County High School in

Camden County, Georgia Camden County is a county located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 50,513. Its county seat is Woodbine, and the largest city is St. Marys. It is one of the original cou ...

, but transferred to Jean Ribault High School in Jacksonville, Florida.databaseFootball.com, Players
Travis Taylor
. Retrieved March 19, 2011. As a senior at Ribault High School, Taylor was a first team Class 4A All-State selection, won All-America honors from SuperPrep, and was named to '' The Florida Times-Union'' Area Super 24 Team.

College career

Taylor accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former American football, football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often ...

's Florida Gators football team from

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 125, 136, 144–145, 162, 173, 186 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011. Taylor compiled seventy-two receptions for 1,150 yards and fifteen touchdowns in eleven career starts, and also earned Most Valuable Player honors in the

1999 Orange Bowl The 1999 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 1999. It was also one of 1998–99 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games. This 65th edition of the Orange Bowl (the last one ever played at the Miami Orange Bowl) featured ...

with seven catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns; in the

2000 Florida Citrus Bowl The 2000 Citrus Bowl was a college football bowl game following the 1999–2000 football season. The game matched the Michigan State Spartans against the Florida Gators. Michigan State came into the game with interim coach Bobby Williams, who to ...

, he made eleven catches for 156 yards and three touchdowns. As a junior in 1999, he was selected as one of the Gators' team captains.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens selected Taylor in the first round (tenth pick overall) in the

; he was the third receiver taken in the 2000 draft.Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History
2000 National Football League Draft
Retrieved March 19, 2011. The Ravens had high hopes of him making an immediate impact. However, Taylor would only make twenty-eight catches for 278 yards in nine games as a rookie in .National Football League, Historical Players
Travis Taylor
Retrieved March 19, 2011. That season, Taylor showed early promise for himself and for his team by scoring two touchdowns in the second game of the season, a shootout victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars—a team the Ravens had never beaten. In 2000, the Ravens would go on to win Super Bowl XXXV. Taylor's best season with Baltimore came in , when he compiled sixty-one catches for 869 yards and six touchdowns. Baltimore released Taylor after a lackluster 2004 season.

Minnesota Vikings

Taylor was then picked up by the Minnesota Vikings, where he played the 2005 and 2006 seasons and led the team in receiving both years. In 32 games (29 starts) with the team, Taylor caught 107 passes for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns. He became a free agent in the 2007 offseason.

Oakland Raiders

On May 22, 2007, Taylor was signed by the

. He was inactive for the team's season opener, then played in the team's Week 2 contest but recorded no statistics. He was released on September 22.

St. Louis Rams

Taylor worked out for the New Orleans Saints on October 11, 2007, but was not signed. He was signed by the St. Louis Rams a week later. He appeared in one game for the team, catching one pass for four yards and recording a solo tackle on special teams. The Rams released him in November.

Carolina Panthers

On December 26, 2007, the Carolina Panthers signed Taylor to a two-year contract. He was inactive for the team's regular season finale. He was released from the team on August 30, 2008.

Detroit Lions

Taylor was signed by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

on December 16, 2008, after wide receiver Shaun McDonald was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. He was released on May 4, 2009. During his eight-season NFL career, Taylor played in 101 regular season games, and started ninety of them. He had 312 career receptions for 4,017 yards and twenty-two touchdowns; he also had thirty-two carries for 232 rushing yards.

NFL statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Travis 1979 births Living people People from Fernandina Beach, Florida Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida Jean Ribault High School alumni American football wide receivers Florida Gators football players Baltimore Ravens players Minnesota Vikings players Oakland Raiders players St. Louis Rams players Carolina Panthers players Detroit Lions players