Keith Taylor has bounced around the National Football League with a few teams since turning pro in 2021, but an unfortunate offseason injury has cost him not only his short-term health but his roster spot with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Per the NFL's transaction wire, the Jaguars have officially released Taylor with an injury settlement after placing him on injured reserve earlier this month.
According to Jaguars beat writer Ryan O'Halloran of the Florida Times-Union, Taylor suffered a torn pectoral muscle while weightlifting this spring. Such a serious injury puts his 2026 season in jeopardy and has taken him out of Jacksonville's plans going forward.
Taylor will be familiar to Chiefs Kingdom after spending two years in Kansas City in 2023 and 2024. He joined the Chiefs practice squad before the 2023 season began after general manager Brett Veach showed concern for the lack of experience in the team's cornerback room. He would remain on the practice squad for the rest of that season, but enjoyed being a part of a Super Bowl run in the process.
In 2024, Taylor was invited back on a reserve/futures deal and would eventually turn into a depth piece on the active roster. Taylor played in 11 games for the Chiefs in '24, with some rotational snaps on defense (79) while contributing more heavily on special teams. Taylor would go on to sign with the Atlanta Falcons after his contract expired for the '25 campaign, but he largely remained on the practice squad, which is where Jacksonville signed him from late last season.
Instead of competing for a spot in Jacksonville's secondary coming into a new year, Taylor now faces an extensive rehab effort in the hopes of returning healthy later this season—or even next year, depending on the severity. That's a tough pill for a journeyman to swallow, but Taylor has proven that he has the attention of several NFL teams thus far.
Taylor was a fifth-round pick for the Carolina Panthers back in 2021 out of the University of Washington, a school known for sending quality corners to the NFL (e.g., Trent McDuffie). He played in Carolina for two seasons but failed to make the active roster in his third year and was cut. That's when the Chiefs made the move to bring him in.
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