The easy part came when they stepped onto the field and out of their grief. That’s when some sense of normalcy returned for the Redskins. Not that it was painless; during their stretching session, players were unusually quiet.
But when the drills started and special teams coach Danny Smith’s voice intensified and players shouted out instructions and ran through plays, the players got to do their jobs. And for a little more than 90 minutes, they could escape their mourning, even if it was only in brief snippets.
Reality was never far from their thoughts of Sean Taylor. Before the four remaining safeties began individual drills, they gathered in a circle with coach Steve Jackson, touching their hands up high in the middle, as other groups already started their workouts.
“You live by the hour right now,” Redskins safety Pierson Prioleau said. “You live by the hour right now.”
But, as linebacker London Fletcher said, “Nothing was normal about today. We had meetings; it was practice, but it wasn’t the same feeling. You found yourself thinking about Sean, imagining him on the field.”
The Redskins tried to conduct business, somewhat as usual. They re-signed receiver Jimmy Farris and promoted linebacker Matt Sinclair from the practice squad.
But the business of football largely took a back seat, again. During the day, the players alternated between grieving together and preparing to play Buffalo on Sunday.
“Sometimes you zone out here a little bit and just think about Sean,” linebacker Marcus Washington said. “It definitely makes it easier [being at Redskins Park] because people here are feeling the same way you’re feeling so you have a support network.”
Taylor’s funeral is Monday morning in Miami.
“Until that point, we don’t have closure,” said Redskins end Phillip Daniels, whose locker was right by Taylor’s.
Receiver Santana Moss, one of Taylor’s closest friends, practiced. But he did not speak to the media. Nor did running back Clinton Portis, who did not practice but was at the facility.
“The team wants to play,” Daniels said. “The only way we can honor Sean is to play. Right now, he’s the 12th man on the field. It’s going to be hard not having him in the huddle.”
Daniels’ voice then started to crack.
“When he was hurt, we knew he was coming back,” he said. “Now he’s not coming back and that’s the toughest thing, knowing he won’t ever be back in the huddle. We love him and we’ll play as hard as we can and honor him the best way we can.”
