Ike Taylor has announced his retirement after 12 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"Other than having my son, playing for the Steelers has been the best experience in my entire lifetime," Taylor told the team's website. "It is rare; in this day of free agency that is super rare to play for one team. For me to have this opportunity says a lot about how they felt about me, what I gave back to the organization.

"I wasn't cut, I wasn't released. It was just my contract was up and it was time to retire. If you want to have pride, well, that is the kind of pride I have, being able to play my contract out."

The Steelers took Taylor in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL draft and he became a full-time starter in 2005. 

Taylor never made a Pro Bowl in Pittsburgh in large part because chronic drops limited him to 17 career interceptions, including the postseason.