Ike Taylor calls Pittsburgh "like home," and although he's not sure where he'll play once the NFL labor dispute is solved, he's not worried about how things will shake out.
"(The lockout has) just got to play its course," the veteran cornerback said Thursday in Buford, Ga. "I'm not really worrying about it. The NFL has said they're going to take care of the (free-agent) contracts whenever they need to."
Taylor, a two-time Super Bowl champion, played the final season of a four-year, $22.5 million deal with the Steelers last season, and he made it sounds as if he wants to return to the team for a ninth campaign.
"I've been in Pittsburgh longer than any city I've ever stayed in," said Taylor, 31, who has been a regular starter for six seasons. "So that's like home to me."
Taylor, who said he believes he already would have signed with a team if not for the labor drama, sidestepped questions on if teams contacted his agent, Joel Segal, during the brief lifting of the lockout late last month.
"I don't ask him," Taylor said. "It's not going to do any good, anyway. Once they get this agreement, everything else will take care of itself. For the time being, I'm just out here working out, having fun."
Taylor is going through his usual offseason regimen with personal coach Tom Shaw, whom he met during his freshman year at Marion Abramson Senior High School in New Orleans. Taylor was among more than 20 players, including New England running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who traveled from Shaw's training site in Orlando, Fla., to work with some Oakland Raiders at a players minicamp this week in suburban Atlanta.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
