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Sean Taylor

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Sean Taylor (born April 1, 1983 in Miami, Florida) is an American football player who currently plays safety for the Washington Redskins of the NFL.

Out of the University of Miami, a top NFL pick

Taylor was a standout safety at the University of Miami and declared his eligibility for the NFL Draft, in 2004, following his junior year. With the fifth pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, Taylor was drafted by the Redskins out of the University of Miami, where he was a consensus first-team "All-American." Taylor surprisingly was the first University of Miami player drafted in 2004, being selected one pick before widely-sought former teammate Kellen Winslow, a predominant tight end, who was chosen by the Cleveland Browns with the draft's sixth pick.

Following his 2004 selection by the Redskins, Taylor signed a seven-year, $18 million contract with the team.

With the Redskins in 2004: a tarnished season

On the field during the 2004 season, Taylor was successful, emerging as the Redskins' starting free safety by the third game of his rookie season. For the season, he had the team's second most interceptions, with four.

Taylor's short NFL career has been tarnished, however, by repeated run-ins with the law and controversy. He has fired two of his agents, walked out of a mandatory NFL rookie symposium for which he was fined, and was accused of spitting on a Cincinnati Bengals player, who later called Taylor "a punk," during a 2004 game in Cincinnati.

On October 27, 2004, Taylor was arrested at 2:45am for driving under the influence of alcohol following a birthday party for Redskins' receiver Rod Garner, though a Fairfax County, Virginia judge dropped the charges in January, 2005 after viewing a videotape of Taylor's roadside sobriety tests that, according to the judge, failed to demonstrate obvious intoxication. Taylor was, however, convicted for refusing to take a blood alcohol test requested of him by a Virginia state police officer, but this conviction is under appeal by Taylor.

In May, 2005, Taylor, seeking a new contract with the Redskins, was the only Redskin to fail to appear for a Redskins' training mini-camp. Redskins coach Joe Gibbs acknowledged that the Redskins had had no contact with Taylor since January 2005. Despite his legal and other difficulties, though, Gibbs has defended the drafting of Taylor, calling the preparation that went into his selection one of the "most researched things in the history of sports."

2005: Charged with armed assault in Miami

Events:

  • On June 3, 2005, Taylor was named a "person of interest" in a Miami assault case involving firearms, and was being sought for questioning by Miami-Dade County police. "We need to speak to him, we don't know if he's a victim, witness or suspect," Miami-Dade police spokesman Mary Walters said. Taylor allegedly was present at, and possibly involved in, an incident on June 1, 2005 in Miami, in which bullets allegedly were fired into a stolen vehicle.
  • As of June 4, 2005, Taylor was still missing and had reportedly been sought by police for over 72-hours. Miami-Dade County police were expected to issue a warrant for his arrest.
  • The evening of June 4, 2005, various news outlets were reporting that Taylor was expected to be charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony, and that, unless he turned himself in to authorities, Miami-Dade police were ready to commence an active search to bring him into custody.
  • On June 5, 2005, ESPN and the The Miami Herald both reported that Taylor, accompanied by his lawyer, had surrendered to Miami-Dade police at approximately 10pm ET on June 4 at Miami's Cutler Ridge district police station, where he was transported to Miami's Turner Guilford Knight correctional facility. He reportedly was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm and battery, both felonies. However, as of 1am on June 5, Miami-Dade police continued to list Taylor only as a "person of interest" and provided no official confirmation of his arrest.
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