The National Football League's Sean Taylor, a star defensive player for the Washington Redskins, died yesterday after being shot at his home near Miami, local television stations in Washington reported.

Taylor, 24, was shot in the leg, severing his femoral artery, during an apparent home robbery on Monday.

He was airlifted to Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment but died from his wound after heavy blood loss.

The Miami Herald reported that Taylor and other occupants of the house heard intruders at the rear door and Taylor was shot in the leg.

Taylor, a college star with the University of Miami, bought the four-bedroom home in Palmetto Bay, a village just south of Miami, for $900,000 two years ago.

The hard-hitting Taylor had five interceptions this season but had been sidelined the last two weeks with a leg injury.