Steelers alum Ike Taylor responds to Demaryius Thomas' retirement in typical swaggin' fashion

Tim Benz
Wednesday, June 30, 2021 6:05 a.m. | Wednesday, June 30, 2021 6:05 a.m.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Reivew

Denver Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas stiff-arms Pittsburgh Steelers corenerback Ike Taylor to break free to win the game on the first play in overtime of their AFC Wild Card playoff game on Jan. 8, 2012 in Denver.

Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor walks from the field after the Denver Broncos won in overtime of their AFC Wild Card playoff game on Jan. 8, 2012 in Denver.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor acknowledged the retirement of Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas in a way that only Ike Taylor could.

Thomas is perhaps best known — well, at least in Pittsburgh — for burning Taylor on the first play of overtime in an AFC playoff game in January 2012. His catch and run off a Tim Tebow pass went for an 80-yard touchdown.

Demaryius Thomas has announced his retirement from the NFL.

Never forget this iconic playoff TD grab he had in 2012

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/MhIg9kv3K6

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 28, 2021

Thomas had four catches for 204 yards that evening. It wasn’t Taylor’s best day as a Steeler, that’s for sure. When Thomas announced his retirement Monday, Taylor took some heat on Twitter from fans who wanted to relive that moment.

This guy, who went down the Pedro Martinez in New York “Who’s your daddy?” path, caught Taylor’s attention.

@Ike_SwagginU plz say congrats to your dad on his retirement https://t.co/7ZkcEjnaax

— ritz (@ritz_bitz14) June 28, 2021

Taylor replied in his typical “swaggin’” manner.

Transcribing loosely from his original tweet that you can see here, Taylor responded, “That was a mean (as heck) stiff arm. (It ticks) me off…but they made a play and I didn’t… I’ve played longer than both a WALK-ON IN COLLEGE and won two SUPERBOWLS…just understand I got more SUPERBOWL RANGS THAN MOST ORGANIZATIONS…(oh well) I love it…@steelers.”

Admittedly, it loses something in the translation. So click the link.

By the way, did he just say “RANGS”? As in, “Taylor won two Super Bowl ‘rangs’ with the Steelers in 2005 and 2008.”

Yeah, I think so. Regardless, his former teammate Mike Wallace jumped into the fray to get his back.

Dat part… https://t.co/XDdk8kVrxj

— . (@Ike_SwagginU) June 29, 2021

“Dat part,” indeed.

Ike will always be Ike. And Ike will always be “swaggin’.” No, Taylor didn’t always cover. But he was always entertaining. And he had more good days than bad ones as a Steelers corner over 12 years.

So, to that end, if that was Taylor’s worst moment, let’s relive one of his best. His Super Bowl interception against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.

Yup. He actually caught that one. He did! He really, really did. “Swaggin’ U” was on display that day.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.