2012 Redskins Free Agency (and Trades) Tracker (Chapter III)

[NC_Skins]

Originally Posted by los panda

"Safety O.J. Atogwe had worn No. 21 his entire life, he said. But joining the Redskins and hitting the practice field for the first time with his new teammates Friday, he knew wearing No. 21 wasn’t an option"

that's what unofficially retired means to me, i don't know what it means to you

You are reading way too much into that. He's not saying that because of it being unofficially retired, he's saying that because he knows what type of memory and weight Sean Taylor still carries with the fans.

He did it out of respect.

The Redskins Blog | OJ Atogwe Plays The Guessing Game

he made it clear via his Twitter that he would honor Taylor’s memory and switch to a different number: