National Football League (NFL) teams were given a deadline to cut their rosters to only 75 players and 2011 first-round pick defensive lineman Phil Taylor was no exception as the Cleveland Browns released him Tuesday.
Taylor was the 21st overall pick by the Browns and has a guaranteed $5.477 million for the 2015 season.
The 27-year-old defensive lineman was unable to join the team in majority of their offseason workouts as he was recovering from a knee surgery for an injury suffered November of last year.
Taylor's absence paved the way for 2015 first-round pick nose tackle Danny Shelton who is performing very well in the preseason.
Shelton's performance was enough for Browns head coach Mike Pettine to tell reporters Tuesday that they have enough depth at the position which led to the release of Taylor from the roster.
He also said, as transcribed by the Akron Beacon Journal, "When we were wherever Phil was and kind of in his state of rehab, he was well on his way to being back but just given the current circumstances of us needing to trim the roster down and where he was and how we felt about the room, we just felt it was the right decision for all involved."
Pettine added that they are aware of the guaranteed money that Taylor has in his pact with the Browns but that was not a factor in the release.
"When we talk about the roster, the contractual stuff to me is a secondary thing," Pettine added.
The Browns still has one preseason game remaining this 2015 as they look for their second victory visiting the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sept. 3.
A win was granted to the Browns in their last preseason outing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following two consecutive losses facing the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills.
Cleveland will begin its 2015 campaign on Sept. 13 against the New York Jets at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
