Sean Taylor

Sean Michael Maurice Taylor April 1 1983 November 27 2007 was an American professional football safety for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League NFL He was selected fifth overall in the 2004 NFL draft by the Redskins where he played four seasons until his murder in 2007 As a high school player Taylor led Gulliver Prep to a Florida state championship and set the state record for singleseason touchdowns He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes where he was a member of their 2001 BCS National Championship team and won the Jack Tatum Trophy With the Redskins he gained a reputation as a hardhitting player and was nicknamed Meast from the expression half man half beast He made one Pro Bowl appearance in 2006 On the night of November 26 2007 while at home he heard noises in his house and while investigating the cause was shot in the leg by a home intruder His fiancée Jackie García and their 18monthold daughter Jackie were unharmed in the incident His femoral artery was severed causing extensive blood loss He was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he died the following day on November 27 2007 at age 24 The NFL recognized the death of Taylor by placing a No 21 decal on the back of all NFL players helmets during all Week 13 games additionally a moment of silence was held before each game that week Players on other teams were given the option to continue wearing the decals in subsequent weeks His locker at Redskins Park was encased in Plexiglas and left the same way Taylor had left it His jersey number was retired by the team in October 2021 he was the third player in the teams history to have that honor The ceremony also included naming of a road to the stadium in his honor He was posthumously voted starting free safety for the NFC team for the 2008 Pro Bowl and voted a second team AllPro Also posthumously he earned a second Pro Bowl selection and secondteam AllPro honors He was inducted to Washingtons Ring of Fame in 2008