Chester Lamar Taylor (born September 22, 1979), nicknamed "Che Tay", is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was drafted by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

in the sixth round of the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

. In 2006, he signed with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

and played four seasons before signing with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He played

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at the university of Toledo.

Early life

Taylor was a four-time all-state running back and sprinter at River Rouge High School before attending the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a Public university, public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, ...

. While at Toledo, Taylor set school records for rushing yards and touchdowns. In 2001, he led the Rockets to an impressive victory over in-state rival

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the college sports, athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. The teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision as members of the Big 12 Conference. The Bearcats were pr ...

in the Motor City Bowl, giving Toledo their first bowl win since the 1995 Las Vegas Bowl. He was named the

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of the game with 31 (Motor City Bowl Record) carries for 190 yards (then a Motor City Bowl Record) and a touchdown. In track, Taylor competed in the 100-meter dash and recorded a PR of 11.14 seconds. Taylor ranked seventh in nation for the 2001 season with 1,492 rushing yards (268 attempts, 5.3 yards-per-carry) and 20 touchdowns. He also hauled in 26 receptions for 242 yards and three touchdowns, with a longest reception of 43 yards. Taylor was named North Team MVP in the 2002 Hula Bowl.

College statistics

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Taylor was taken with the 35th pick in the sixth round (207th overall) of the

by the

. He spent four years backing up Jamal Lewis, seeing minimal yet increasing playing time throughout his tenure with the team. He also developed himself as a receiving threat, making him the Ravens third down back. 20090104 Chester Taylor

Minnesota Vikings

Taylor was signed by the

to a four-year, $14.1 million contract on March 12, 2006. On October 22, 2006, Taylor set a Vikings franchise record for longest run from scrimmage when he ran for a 95-yard touchdown in the third quarter, which is also an NFL record for the longest run in the 3rd quarter, against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. He also broke 1000 rushing yards for the first time in his NFL career. Taylor and

Adrian Peterson Adrian Lewis Peterson (; born March 21, 1985) is an American former professional football running back who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football hist ...

were considered one of the NFL's top running back tandems.

Chicago Bears

Taylor was signed by the

to a four-year, $12.5 million contract on March 5, 2010. In 2010, Taylor shared carries with running back Matt Forte. His stats fell compared to his times with the Ravens and Vikings and rushed for only 267 yards on 112 carries for a 2.4 yard average. Taylor was released by Chicago during final cuts on September 3, 2011.

Arizona Cardinals

Taylor was claimed via waivers for a one-year contract by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

on September 4, 2011.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Chester 1979 births Living people American football running backs Toledo Rockets football players Minnesota Vikings players Baltimore Ravens players Chicago Bears players Arizona Cardinals players People from River Rouge, Michigan Players of American football from Wayne County, Michigan 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen