After months of speculating where Aqib Talib goes, Denver decides to ship off the 32-year-old cornerback to Hollywood for a fifth-round pick.
Concluding the disappointing 6-10 finish last season, the Broncos organization was questioning the future of veterans on the team, including cornerback Aqib Talib and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. Since the beginning of the new year, rumors spread around the league of Denver either trading away or releasing Talib.
Talib, 32, is a five-time Pro Bowler who has established himself as one of the elite cornerbacks in the league. In his four seasons with Denver, Talib made four straight Pro Bowls, amassed 182 tackles, intercepted 11 balls and won his only ring (Super Bowl 50) with the team.
Even with his success with the team, Talib does bring some baggage to his new home. He has his share of off field incident throughout his career, which included two arrests in three years and recently was questioned by police after falsify a report of accidentally shooting himself outside of a Dallas strip club.
Talib got into altercation with Oakland wide out Michael Crabtree, which brewed over the Denver corner, snatching Crabtree’s gold chain in the season finale a year ago.
Acquiring Talib already makes the Rams a bonafide contender in a revamped NFC conference. Talib joins newcomers Marcus Peters and Sam Shields into an already elite defense with safety Lamarcus Joyner, All-Rookie safety John Johnson and Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald. The Rams traded away starting linebacker Alec Ogletree to the New York Giants for a 2018 fourth- and sixth-round pick. This is also a reunion with Talib and his defensive cooridinator in Denver, Wade Phillips.
The trade becomes official next Wednesday when the new league year begins.
