Washington Football Team to honor, retire jersey of former safety

During Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Washington Football Team will take a moment to retire the number of one of their late greats, the team announced Thursday.

There will never be another 21 💛

On Sunday, we will officially retire Sean Taylor's number

— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) October 14, 2021

Sean Taylor, a safety for Washington for four years from 2004-2007, will have his No. 21 jersey retired on Sunday. Taylor was shot in his upper leg in his Miami home by intruders in November 2007 and died the following day. 

Taylor made an impact from the moment he joined the Washington team. He started 13 of 15 games his rookie season, and he started every game the team played up until his death.

The two-time Pro Bowler, one such honor bestowed upon him posthumously, posted 262 tackles, 12 interceptions and eight forced fumbles prior to his death. He was inducted into the team’s Ring of Fame in November 2008, a little over a year after his death. Several players are known to have worn Taylor’s jersey numbers as a tribute to the star.

Taylor was a Miami standout in their heyday

The safety was selected as the fifth overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft out of Miami and was a member of the vaunted Miami defenses of the early 2000s. Taylor won a national title with Miami in 2001 and was one of just four true freshmen to play that season.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound safety posted 188 tackles, 14 interceptions and one forced fumble for the Hurricanes. In his senior season, he was a unanimous first-team All-American, the Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award given to the nation’s best defensive back. He led college football in interceptions and total tackles that season with 10 and 77, respectively.

Taylor also ran track for the Hurricanes.

The safety’s three years at Miami were the final three seasons in which Miami was in the Big East before moving to the ACC. The team went 35-3 from 2001-2003, and in addition to the Rose Bowl win that gave them the national title in 2001, the team won the 2003 Orange Bowl under head coach Larry Coker.