Aug 4, 2022; Canton, Ohio, USA; The Pro Football Hall of Fame logo at midfield at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jaguars' Legend Snubbed By Hall of Fame

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated Dec 30, 2025 12:30 PM ET

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars legend Fred Taylor has been snubbed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame once again.

The Hall of Fame announced 15 Modern-Era finalists for the next class, and Taylor was kept out of the group after the Jaguars' all-time great was a finalist the year before.

Taylor, who has been flirting with Hall of Fame candidacy for years, will have to wait for another crack at it moving forward. Frank Gore was the only running back to be named a modern-era finalist this year, and he is joined in the group by Willie Anderson, Drew Brees, Jahri Evans, Larry Fitzgerald, Frank Gore, Torry Holt, Luke Kuechly, Eli Manning, Terrell Suggs, Adam Vinatieri, Reggie Wayne , Kevin Williams, Jason Witten, Darren Woodson, and Marshal Yanda.

Taylor recorded 13,632 total yards and 70 touchdowns in his career, with the vast majority of those coming with Jacksonville. He is the all-time leading rusher in franchise history with 11,271 yards, more than 3,000 more than the back behind him. He ranks No. 17 in rushing yards all-time.

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When it comes to his production during his career, which spanned from 1998 to 2010, Taylor marked most of the boxes. He ran for at least 1,000 yards in seven of his 13 seasons and scored 32 rushing touchdowns in his first three seasons alone.

We asked Jaguars running back Travis Etienne in November about his relationship with Taylor -- who is still close with the franchise and has always reached out to their new generation of running backs who are following in his footstep. As expected, Etienne sung Taylor's praises.

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"I mean, my relationship with him is great. I mean, he's very supportive, and especially when you have somebody who should already be in the Hall of Fame just out there supporting you and helping you with your game. It don't get no better than that. And I feel like he's very, very important to this organization," Etienne said.

"I mean, I feel like his game it just goes unnoticed, like what he really did. I feel like you watch his film, so he was a big back, but he was able to catch the ball. He was elusive, he was a power back. He was just a great talent. And I feel like he should have been in the Hall of Fame."