Aqib Talib disagreed with Rams putting him on IR, shares thoughts on trade
Aqib Talib doesn’t blame the Rams for trading him to Miami after getting Jalen Ramsey.
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The Los Angeles Rams made major changes to their secondary before the trade deadline swapping out two former starters at cornerback for one new one. They traded away Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib and acquired Jalen Ramsey, pairing him with Troy Hill as the two starters at corner.
Talib was on injured reserve with broken ribs, so he wasn’t eligible to return until Week 15 anyway, but Peters was healthy and playing well before the trade. Although the moves came as somewhat of a surprise, Talib wasn’t caught off guard by the Rams trading him the Dolphins.
He was on FOX’s pregame show Sunday and explained what led to the trade – beginning with being placed on IR, which he disagreed with.
“I was in the building, so I kind of saw the whole thing formulating itself, so not as much of a surprise. I kind of seen the whole story unfolding in front of me,” Talib said.
“It kind of started with the Seattle game, I broke my ribs. So early-week meetings, they said the team said they were going to put me on IR. I kind of disagreed with the IR, [but] it was the team’s decision at the end of the day,” he continued.” My call with my agent, I wasn’t the happiest camper, so the trade rumors came upon us and some contenders were out there. but I initially decided to stay. I wanted to stay with the guys I was grinding with – my team, the L.A. Rams. My kids got friends at school and stuff, so I ultimately decided I wanted to stay in L.A.”
What events led to the Rams trading away
@AqibTalib21?
The Pro Bowl CB joined our show this AM and broke everything down:
pic.twitter.com/cfNwoJwF3r
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX)
November 3, 2019
Talib wasn’t surprised by the Rams’ decision to trade him, especially after he learned what was going on. He saw Peters get traded and Ramsey come to L.A., so the writing was on the wall for him.
“You get a guy like Jalen Ramsey, you can’t let that guy leave the building. He’s one of the hottest commodities in the NFL,” Talib said. “I talked to Les [Snead], Coach Sean [McVay] – I wouldn’t have done it no different, honestly. You got one of the hottest commodities in the league in Jalen Ramsey. You got a chance to go out and get him and pay him while he’s happy, he’s in the building, do it.”
As for whether Talib will actually play again this season for the Dolphins, that remains to be seen. He’s healthy right now, but he can’t come off IR until Week 15 at the earliest – and it sounds like when he can come off IR, he may not play anyway.
“I’m healthy enough to play right now. I talked to Coach Flo [Brian Flores] and right now, I’m just focused on getting healthy,” Talib said when asked if he’ll play for the Dolphins this year. “When I’m able to come off the injured reserve list, it’ll be a decision to make for the team, for myself. But ultimately, I don’t make any decisions, as you can see. I just show up and make sure I’m healthy enough to play football.