million signing bonus and could have been worth $40 million with incentives and bonuses. His contract also included a seventh-year option. Taylor became the first top ten pick to sign his contract in 2004. On August 4, 2004, it was reported that Taylor fired his agents Eugene Mato and Jeff Moorad after he became unsatisfied with his contract. He fired them after other top ten picks signed their contracts and felt their deals were better in comparison. This marked his second time firing agents within five months after he fired agent Drew Rosenhaus two days after the NFL draft. He immediately rehired Rosenhaus, who served as his agent for the remainder of his career. Taylor also had an incident that involved his early departure during the NFL's Rookie Symposium which was mandatory for every incoming player from the draft and was held over four days. He left after the first day, but returned for the last two days at the urging of representatives from the Redskins. Over his first three seasons, Taylor also was fined at least seven times for late hits, uniform violations and other infractions. Throughout training camp, Taylor competed for the job as the starting free safety against Andre Lott. On August 9, 2004, Taylor made his professional NFL debut in the Redskins' preseason-opener as part of their second unit defense against the Denver Broncos. He recorded two interceptions in the second half off passes by rookie quarterback Matt Mauck. During the third quarter, Taylor intercepted a pass intended for Jeb Putzier and returned it for a three-yard touchdown to put Washington in the lead 10–9. Head coach Joe Gibbs named Taylor the backup free safety to begin the regular season, behind starter Andre Lott, after Taylor failed to surpass him on the depth chart. He made his professional regular season debut in the Washington Redskins' season-opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and assisted on one tackle in their 16–10 victory. In Week 3, Taylor earned his first career start after surpassing Lott on the depth chart and recorded four combined tackles and deflected two passes in the Redskins' 21–18 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. On October 18, 2004, Taylor made four solo tackles, a pass deflection, a sack, and returned his first career interception for 45-yards during a 13–10 win at the Chicago Bears. He made his first career interception and sack during the game, recording