BRONCOS TRADE CORNERBACK TALIB TO L.A. RAMS
Pro Bowl cornerback reunited with Phillips; L.A. sending fifth-round pick to Denver
The Broncos’ No-Fly Zone is no more.
The team on Thursday agreed to trade veteran cornerback Aqib Talib to the Los Angeles Rams for a 2018 fifth-round draft pick, an NFL source confirmed. The move, which reunites Talib with former Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips in Los Angeles, saves the Broncos $11 million in salary cap space and gives them a total of 11 draft picks this year that will be sorely needed to remake the roster.
The transaction can’t be made official until the new league year begins next Wednesday.
Talib signed a six-year, $57 million contract with the Broncos as part of John Elway’s defensive overhaul in 2014 and was selected to a Pro Bowl in each of his four seasons with Denver. Though he still played like a top corner, other numbers worked against him as the Broncos looked toward the future: He turned 32 in February and has two years and $19 million in salary remaining on his contract.
His impending exit from Denver appeared likely when the Broncos exercised the fifth-year contract option on Bradley Roby, worth $8.526 million. It became all but certain earlier Thursday, when the Broncos, as expected, exercised the $1.1 million option on cornerback Chris Harris’ contract to pick up the $7.4 million he’s due in 2018. A total salary cap charge of nearly $31 million for three cornerbacks wasn’t in the cards for a team in search of veteran help in free agency.
“Bradley is a first-round pick,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said, indicating Roby’s eventual rise to a starting role. “He should play well for us. I’m not surprised when he makes plays and when he’s playing at a high level. That’s what he should do. Obviously the Oakland game when Aqib was ejected, he played very well. In the game Aqib missed against Miami, I thought Bradley played very well. He’s definitely capable, but he should be. He’s a firstround pick.”
Before reaching an agreement with the Rams, the Broncos had trade discussions with the 49ers and with the Patriots to try to move Talib before the start of the new year. Though there was spec-
ulation the team would release Talib if a deal couldn’t be made, the Broncos wanted to get something in return for a player of Talib’s caliber.
Denver’s secondary shake-up comes six months after the Broncos released veteran safety T.J. Ward and will likely have a ripple effect in the locker room, even if players expected the trade.
Like Ward, Talib possessed a fire and loyalty that was respected by his teammates, and in his four years as a Bronco, was a leader of the defense. His study habits, which had been refined and enhanced over the years, were used as an example. His technique and game intellect were too.
In his four years as a Bronco, Talib made 11 interceptions — with six of those returned for touchdowns, a franchise record. He also amassed 183 tackles, two forced fumbles, 48 pass breakups and one sack, all while earning four Pro Bowl nods and his first and only first-team all-pro selection (2016).
For his career, Talib has 34 interceptions — the most of any cornerback in the NFL since 2008 (when he was drafted) — and his 10 total pick-sixes rank as the fourth-most all time, behind Hall of Famers Rod Woodson (12), Darren Sharper (11), and Charles Woodson (11).
In Denver, Talib certainly sealed a Hall of Fameworthy résumé, but his ride included some notable bumps — ones common in his previous NFL stops with Tampa Bay and New England.
On-field altercations — an eye-poke in Indianapolis and a fight in Oakland — resulted in two suspensions, and another incident caused much more of a scare. Four months after the Broncos won Super Bowl 50, Talib shot himself in the leg in Dallas. He physically recovered in time for the following season and did not face punishment from the NFL.
After two playoff-less seasons with an unsettled quarterback situation, the Broncos face an offseason of change and budget manipulation. To spend big on veterans, which the Broncos could very well do at quarterback, salary cap space has to be cleared.
Talib indicated he expected as much in January, when he was a guest on Altitude 950. “If I wasn’t (returning), it wouldn’t be the most surprising thing in the world,” he told Vic Lombardi. “You have three corners making big money, and that’s rare to have.”