Ryan Clark Honors Former Teammate, Friend Sean Taylor Upon Return To 'Skins

During his first stint with the Redskins, from 2004-2005, Ryan Clark was perhaps the player with the strongest ties to Sean Taylor.

Not only did the two men play the same position (safety), but as Jason Reid notes, Clark was the player who reached out to Taylor the most and the player who got through to him the most.

Clark signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005. After Taylor was murdered at his Miami home in 2007, Clark wore No. 21 at practices with the Steelers even though his number on game days remained No. 25.

Now Clark is back with the Redskins after agreeing to a one-year contract in March, and many fans wondered if and how he would pay tribute to his friend.

At first, Clark vowed he wouldn't wear Taylor's No. 21, even during practice:

But after speaking with Taylor's longtime girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, Clark had a change of heart.

With OTAs starting this week, Taylor posted a photo of his practice uniform with the following caption:

"Extremely honored and blessed to get another opportunity to rep for a friend! Miss ya bro! R.I.P S. Dot!"

Clark discussed his reasoning for wearing the jersey on the LaVar and Dukes show.

“Every time somebody asks me why I wear a different number to practice, I get to tell Sean’s story,” Clark said. “I get to tell people about the guy I love. I get to tell people about the guy who was possibly on his way to being the greatest safety to ever play the game. And that got cut short. He never got to realize his full potential. But it gives me the opportunity to remind people of him.”

Clark, who starred for the Steelers for eight seasons and helped lead the team to a Super Bowl title in 2009, signed with the Redskins on what would have been Taylor's 31st birthday.