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Just when things were starting to look optimistic on the injury front for the Cleveland Browns, head coach Mike Pettine announced on Friday that defensive lineman Phil Taylor would be placed on injured reserve, ending his 2014 season.
#Browns HC Mike Pettine: DL Phil Taylor has knee issue, will go on IR, have surgery, issue unrelated to recent scope.
— Nate Ulrich (@NateUlrichABJ) November 14, 2014
Taylor played in the team's first four games of the season before having arthroscopic knee surgery. He made a somewhat surprising return during last Thursday night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals and played very well in limited action, registering 3 tackles and 1 pass defended. Taylor left the game after chasing down WR A.J. Green from behind early in the fourth quarter. It's unclear if Taylor was injured on that play or not.
Before this season, the Browns picked up the fifth-year option on Taylor's contract, so he'll still be under contract in 2015. Cleveland has been able to manage the defensive line without Taylor for about a month, but having him healthy would have been a nice boost.