Sean Taylor, the quixotic and supremely talented free safety from the University of Miami, won't have to face a Miami-Dade County jury on his felony assault charge until at least February, but he's still on trial with his coaches and fans at the Washington Redskins.
A spokesman for the state attorney's office said Tuesday prosecutors will not oppose a continuation of Taylor's Sept. 12 court date until after the season, which means coach Joe Gibbs can expect a full season from his gifted second-year player.
It also means, however, that Taylor now has another five months to think about a future which seems to be headed down the same path as Ricky Williams, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and other problem players in the NFL.
Taylor's road is decidedly more perilous. As damaging as Williams, Moss and Owens have been to their teammates, they've never been charged with felonies during their pro football careers.
How good is Taylor after a rookie season in which he intercepted four passes and grew quickly into the NFL game?
"As good as he wants to be," says Redskins defensive backs coach DeWayne Walker. If Ed Reed of the Baltimore Ravens, who preceded Taylor at UM, is the gold standard for safeties, Taylor, said Walker, will be better.
"I think at some point he will be. Athletically, he's better than Reed right now. There's no doubt he can be one of the best safeties that ever played."
Walker refers to great defenders as being "halo players" because they're always around the ball. Reed and his Ravens teammate, linebacker Ray Lewis, are halo players, he said. And so, too, is Taylor, Walker said.
"He made some rookie mistakes. In our scheme, the free safety has to make a lot of calls and adjustments. But to see him today, it's like night and day."
Despite refusing to attend offseason training with the Redskins, Taylor reported to camp in supreme condition, right at his playing weight of 232 pounds and looking fit, quick and eager to compete with his cornerback speed and agility, his linebacker hitting ability and his free safety range and intelligence.
"It's the offseason." That was the explanation Taylor offered reporters when asked why he stayed in South Florida from February through July.
Yet, despite his truculence, he is, said Walker, extremely coachable and a consummate team player.
In exhibition games and practices this summer, Taylor's concentration has been unwavering. "If anything, he's even more focused. It's as if football is his sanctuary," said Walker, trying to explain how Taylor has managed to purge from his mind the problems he has with the law.
He's not the most garrulous player to come out of a college known for its blustery players, and after a brief tete-a-tete with journalists when he arrived here in late July, he has steadfastly refused interviews.
What he did say that day, however, was disquieting.
"I don't think anybody should have regrets, especially me," Taylor said. "You don't regret anything you're doing in your life. If you do it, you do it for a reason."
Police say Taylor brandished a gun at men he believed had stolen two of his all-terrain vehicles. He was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, which carries a mandatory minimum three-year prison term, plus a count of misdemeanor battery. He has pleaded not guilty.
If Taylor were a troubled youth struggling to make the transition to a more public world, his travails would be more understandable. But he is well educated, and as the son of a police chief in Florida City, he grew up with privilege and respect for the law.
How, then, do you explain an aggravated-assault charge?
Walker wanted to explain, but decided not to finish his thought. "Guys have two ... " he began, then settled for, "We all make mistakes."
Gibbs, who is coaching his 14th season in two reigns with the Redskins, should not be perplexed by Taylor's dual personality. In the 1980s, he had to deal with defensive end Dexter Manley, whose cocaine snorting overshadowed his considerable pass-rushing ability.
He met with Taylor when he reported this summer.
"What he said to me about his mistakes made sense, and made me feel good," Gibbs said, cryptically. "We were upset. I'll say this for him. He's football smart. He picks it up quick. But he's got a lot of ground to make up."
Aside from refusing to attend Gibbs' offseason training sessions, Taylor also refused to return Gibbs' calls. One year in the NFL, and he's snubbing a Hall of Fame coach. That was another mistake, but not surprising for a young man with a mercurial personality.
The fifth pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, Taylor cracked the starting lineup after two games, and it's rare to find a player that young starting at such a critical spot.
"Kenny Easley. Eric Turner. The great ones start as rookies," Walker said.
He had big games -- a 10-tackle performance against Cincinnati in which he intercepted Carson Palmer's first throw and a jarring hit near the sideline in the Pittsburgh loss. And there is so much more promised in 2005 and beyond.
The next five months are going to be a crucial benchmark in Taylor's life. He's taken a lot of bad publicity for this episode in Miami without sounding very contrite, and now he's gotten a minor reprieve from the state attorney. His season won't be cut short by the law.
What now? Can he mature emotionally as quickly as he's maturing as a player, or will the comparisons with Moss and Owens become more pronounced?
That's a call Taylor has to make, and it's much bigger than anything he'll make to the defense in front of him.
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