Lorenzo Taliaferro, an NFL running back whose career with the Baltimore Ravens was cut short by nagging injuries that mostly kept him off the field, died Wednesday of a heart attack, according to reports citing family members.
He was 28 years old.
Taliaferro passed away a week before his 29th birthday, and was pronounced dead about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Riverside Doctors’ Hospital in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia, ESPN reported.
Deputies with the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to an apartment in the town, where Taliaferro had suffered a medical emergency. Medics later arrived and transported him in an ambulance.
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Taliaferro was drafted in 2014 — the same year that the Ravens parted ways with feature running back Ray Rice after video surfaced of him punching and dragging his future wife in an Atlantic City elevator.
The team took Taliaferro in the fourth round, and the hard-nosed runner played three seasons through 2016, but primarily as a backup to another sensation, Justin Forsett.
Over three seasons, Taliaferro suited up in 19 games but rushed for only 339 yards — most of it in his rookie campaign — and he scored five touchdowns while struggling to stay healthy. Each of the seasons he played ended on injured reserve, ESPN reported.
Before joining the Ravens, Taliaferro attended Coastal Carolina University on a football scholarship. There, in 2013, he rushed for 1,729 yards and 27 touchdowns and was named the Big South Offensive Player of the Year.
Three weeks after joining the Ravens, Taliaferro allegedly broke the window of a cab in Williamsburg and was arrested for disorderly conduct and public intoxication.
As punishment, Ravens coach John Harbaugh made Taliaferro run 18 sets of gassers, according to ESPN. After the episode, the 6-foot, 232-pound bruiser had the best game of his career, rushing for 91 yards against the Browns in Cleveland.
“I did everything all week to prepare and make sure I was ready when my name was called,” Taliaferro said after the Ravens won the game, according to ESPN.
By the 2017 season, Taliaferro was recast as a fullback, but he was cut by the team before the regular season began. He spent a year out of the league before a 2018 tryout as a defensive player for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League, but he didn’t make the team. At the twilight of his career, he reportedly played in the American Flag Football League.
Harbaugh, who is still the head coach of the team, issued a statement on social media Thursday.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Lorenzo Taliaferro. Lorenzo was a kind, smart, respectful and determined young man someone always committed to his teammates and well-liked by everyone in our organization. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Lorenzo’s family. May he rest in peace.”
Other former teammates also publicly shared their grief.
Taliaferro’s 29th birthday would have been next Wednesday, reports said.
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