Patriots Sign Taylor, Baker

By Carmine Caruso • February 27, 2009

The New England Patriots, who missed the playoffs this past year for the first time since 2002, wasted no time making off-season improvements. The Pats have signed former Jacksonville Jaguars RB Fred Taylor as well as former New York Jets TE Chris Baker.

In 2008, Taylor, the Jags’ franchise-leading rusher, had 143 carries for 556 yards and a touchdown, easily the worst season running of his career where he played at least 10 games (In 11 years, he has played in double digit games 10 times). The 33-year-old veteran hopes to rebound with the Patriots, who had an injury-plagued backfield in 2008.

Last year, the New York Jets drafted Dustin Keller, making Baker a less popular receiving option at TE, especially with the chemistry made between Brett Favre and Keller. After a 2007 season where he caught 41 passes with 409 yards and 3 TD, he caught only 21 passes for 194 yards and no touchdowns in this past season. The 29-year-old is heading into his 7th NFL season, and will share time at TE with Benjamin Watson.

Categories: NFL
Tags: Benjamin Watson, Brett Favre, Chris Baker, Dustin Keller, Features, Fred Taylor, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, New York Jets

About the Author

Carmine Caruso

My name's Carmine Caruso (By the way "Carmine" is pronounced with a silent e, sounds like "Carmen"). I am one of the editors here at SFC. I'm also a fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, and Boston College football & basketball. I live a few miles away from Gillete Stadium and my family holds season tickets to the Patriots, and I also go to Fenway Park a few times a year. Because of the recent success of my teams, I've been criticized as a bandwagon fan plenty of times. That is false; win or lose, I have always and will always love my teams. I am knowledgeable about sports and follow them well, and that's why I'm here.

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