Thousands mourn Taylor

Thousands filled an arena at Miami’s Florida International University yesterday for Sean Taylor’s funeral, with his coach praising his “excitement for life” and the NFL commissioner telling mourners the Washington Redskins star “loved football and football loved him back.”

The funeral comes a week after Taylor was shot in his home and days after four men were charged with killing him during the robbery. A lawyer for one of the suspects confirmed there was a fifth suspect.

Taylor’s casket was surrounded by bouquets while a video display behind it showed Taylor from his days with the Redskins, Miami Hurricanes and high school.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said it had been a “sad week” for the league family.

“It’s times like this that all of us struggle to find meaning in life,” Goodell told the mourners. “The NFL was proud of Sean Taylor. He loved football and football loved him back. But more importantly, it was what he was as a man and what he was becoming as a man.”

Redskins coach Joe Gibbs spoke to Taylor’s growing spirituality.

“I think he’s going to have 100-year football games,” Gibbs said. “He had excitement for life and certainly he can still live forever. For me personally, I want to play on Sean’s team.”

Meanwhile in Fort Myers, the four young men charged in Taylor’s death sat in jail cells, while a lawyer for one said a fifth suspect was being sought.

Bad break for NY’s Ward

Derrick Ward, the New York Giants’ leading rusher, suffered a broken leg Sunday against Chicago and will be out indefinitely.

Ward fractured his left fibula, the thinner of the two bones extending from the knee to the ankle, in the fourth quarter of New York’s 21-16 come-from-behind victory. He rushed 24 times for a career-high 154 yards. . . .

Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden said there is a “possibility” quarterback Jeff Garcia could play this week against Houston.

Gruden said there is nothing structurally wrong with Garcia’s bruised back and despite backup Luke McCowan’s big game in Tampa Bay’s 27-23 victory over New Orleans on Sunday, his 37-year-old starter will be back in the lineup as soon as he is medically cleared to play.

Lions lose Williams

Detroit Lions wide receiver Roy Williams is expected to miss the rest of the regular season because of a sprained knee.

Lions coach Rod Marinelli announced that Williams has a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and that he will miss “several weeks.”


Detroit also lost reserve safety LaMarcus Hicks to a broken ankle, while cornerback Travis Fisher was undergoing tests on his injured wrist. . . .

Miami safety Cameron Worrell tore his ACL in the Dolphins’ 40-13 loss to the New York Jets [team stats] on Sunday, coach Cam Cameron said. . . .

The Green Bay Packers board of directors unanimously approved the appointment of Northwestern athletic director Mark Murphy as the team’s new top executive, ending the search for a successor to longtime Packers leader Bob Harlan


Thousands mourn Taylor - BostonHerald.com