It’s a term that can be overused when discussing sports transactions, but yesterday’s trade of Aqib Talib from the Broncos to the Rams was almost certainly a win-win.
By acquiring Talib, the Rams add a legit No. 1 cornerback to pair alongside newly acquired corner Marcus Peters. With both players now in the fold, Los Angeles goes from having a fairly weak secondary to having one of the best in the entire NFL.
On the other side of the deal, the Broncos receive a fifth-round pick in the 2018 draft for Talib and, more importantly, get the cap hit of the $11 million they owe the 32-year-old corner for the upcoming season and the $8 million they owe him for the following year off of their books.
That savings helps to give them about $35 million in projected space, more than enough room to make a substantial offer for the top free agent on the market, 29-year-old quarterback Kirk Cousins.
While it’s still possible the trade backfires if Talib’s well-documented off-field issues cause him to miss time or Cousins spurns the Broncos for another suitor (as Vegas thinks he will), the deal demonstrates aggressiveness by both sides, a trait that’s strongly linked with winning.
“We are coming off a year where the most situationally aggressive NFL teams—the Eagles, Jaguars and Patriots—all wound up among the league’s final four,” according to The MMQB on Sports Illustrated. “Their roster not only churns at the bottom third, but at the top, where premium, in-prime talent gets combined with flexible coaching to create a dominant force.”
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