The band of brothers who were galvanized by his loss is thinning. Only seven of his teammates remain on the active roster and only two of his coaches are still on Washington’s staff. His lockers at the practice facility and at the stadium, whose contents were sealed behind Plexiglas after his death, have been removed.

But don’t think for a moment that Sean Taylor, whose shooting four years ago tomorrow and death from his wounds the next day inspired an unmatched outpouring of grief from Redskins Nation, has been forgotten.

“I can still see Sean’s smile,” said safeties coach Steve Jackson, who keeps two pictures of Taylor in his Redskins Park office.

“It’s four years, but it just feels like yesterday,” said receiver Santana Moss, whom Taylor followed to the University of Miami and then to the Redskins.

LaRon Landry, whom Washington drafted sixth overall in 2007 to team at safety with Taylor, the fifth choice overall in 2004, said he thinks every day about how terrific they could have been if their partnership had lasted for more than nine games.

Jackson believes that Taylor could have become one of the all-time great safeties, since “he was just scratching the surface” of his talents when he was slain at 24.  

Taylor, who had led the Redskins in tackles in 2006, was leading the NFC in interceptions when he injured a knee against Philadelphia on Nov. 11, 2007.

That’s why Taylor wasn’t back in Northern Virginia in the early morning hours of Nov. 26 after having played the day before at Tampa Bay, but was at home in South Florida for Thanksgiving with his fiancée, Jackie Garcia, and their young daughter, Jackie.

That’s when four jealous teenagers and 20-year-old Venjah Hunte broke in with the idea of stealing from the 24-year-old millionaire, whose empty mansion was going to be an easy target full of sweet stuff. Instead, Taylor confronted the burglars and was shot in the femoral artery, an injury that caused him to bleed to death.

Shockingly, Taylor’s alleged assailants have yet to stand trial. Hunte plea-bargained to second-degree murder and burglary charges in 2008 and is expected to testify against Timmy Lee Brown, Jason Mitchell, Eric Rivera and Charles Wardlow, who are finally supposed to go to trial on Jan. 30.

Hunte will likely serve 29 years in prison while the rest could face life sentences if convicted on first-degree murder charges for which they can be tried under Florida law even if they didn’t personally pull the trigger.   

“They in prison so they ain’t going nowhere,” Moss said when asked if he’s angry that justice has yet to be served. “They gonna be dealt with. You just gotta let the system do its course.”

But we never got to see Taylor’s career run much of its course.

While Washington was just 28-29 in games that Taylor played during his four seasons, his 51-yard fumble return for a touchdown against the Buccaneers in January 2006 was the difference in its only playoff victory of the past 11 seasons.

Moss wonders how good the Redskins, who are 26-41 since Taylor’s final game, might have been if he had lived. He would only be 28 this year and in the prime of his career. The acknowledged but aging masters at his position, Baltimore’s Ed Reed (33) and Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu (30), could well rank behind Taylor by now.

Reed Doughty, who took over for Taylor after he was hurt, 2008 draft choices Kareem Moore and Chris Horton (both since waived) and 2011 free agent signee Oshiomogho Atgowe have all come up short in trying to replace the incredibly gifted athlete and intimidator.

“(Sean) was really coming into his own,” Doughty said. “We were talking in the (defensive back meeting) room the other day about how young and good he was. Anybody who plays free safety for the Redskins is always going to be compared to him and I’m not sure many can compare.” 

Taylor was also coming into his own as a person. Very shy and soft-spoken off the field except with those close to him, Taylor’s behavior as a player had been worthy of his “The Beast” nickname during his first two Redskins seasons. He was disciplined for a series of late hits, spitting in an opponent’s face, walking out of the NFL’s mandatory rookie symposium, driving under the influence and numerous uniform violations.

But Jackie’s birth in the spring of 2006 began to mellow and mature Taylor, making his death that much sadder. That’s also why so many Redskins fans still wear his No. 21 jersey instead of those of a current player.

And maybe if justice is finally served, we can all have some closure about the franchise’s biggest tragedy.