ASHBURN (Va.) -- Late safety Sean Taylor's No. 21 jersey will be retired by the Washington Football Team. 21 jersey, making him the third player to be awarded this honor in franchise history.
Taylor's jersey number, which was issued in the first quarter of Sunday's game against Kansas City Chiefs, will be retired at a ceremony. A road leading to the stadium was also announced by the team on Thursday as "Sean Taylor Road".
Washington's players will also wear the No. 21 decal on Sunday.
Taylor will be joining Sammy Baugh (No. 33) and Bobby Mitchell (33) will be Taylor's teammates. 49), as the only Washington players to see their jersey numbers retire. Others numbers include Darrell Green's number. 28. Art Monk's Number. John Riggins' No. Since those players retired, 44 have not been worn. They are all in the Hall of Fame.
"I joined the NFL in the same year Sean Taylor did. His athletic ability, resilience and grit and unwavering work ethic immediately set him apart." Jason Wright, Washington's president, released a statement stating that he was a role model for many. The fact that he was tragically killed so young hurt not only our players, but also our coaches, fans, and staff. We will remember him as an example of excellence and professionalism, and we will all work to emulate his achievements in our own ways.
The jersey retirement is taking place amid renewed attention to the Washington franchise investigation -- after multiple emails were discovered from Bruce Allen's time as team president. This led to Jon Gruden's resignation at the Las Vegas Raiders. These emails were included in court documents filed in June.
The NFL Players Association announced that it will request the league to release 650,000 emails it collected from the franchise in the course of its investigation. The NFL claimed that no emails were leaked and that it will not reopen the investigation nor release any emails.
A team spokesperson stated that Taylor's announcement was made in spite of some skepticism. He said that the ceremony had been planned by the organization before the season began and that it wanted to be part the franchise's alumni weekend. Ryan Clark, an ESPN analyst, stated that he was approached in September about the possibility of attending.
In case you are curious, Tim Hightower reached me on September 22nd to invite my to the @WashingtonNFL Alumni Weekend. He sent me a text saying that they would be honoring Sean's family. This was what I believed was the reason I received the invitation. Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) October 14, 2021
In a statement, the team stated that they had been working with Sean Taylor's family to plan the weekend's tribute to Sean Taylor from before the season began. We are sorry to those fans who wanted more notice. We will continue to share information with fans about the ways we will celebrate Sean Taylor's legacy in the coming month.
Taylor was killed in a home invasion attempt in Florida on Nov. 27, 2007. He was in the middle of his best NFL season when he died, according to his teammates and coaches.
Washington selected Taylor as the No. 5, in 2004. No. During his rookie season, he wore No. 36. He then changed to No. 21. 21 the following year.
Taylor's athleticism and size made him an exceptional talent in Washington's secondary. His popularity also led to many safeties wearing No. 21. Washington's safety Landon Collins, who wore No. 21 when he was playing for the New York Giants. Collins said that he hoped Washington would draft his son because it's where Taylor had been.
