Before Aqib Talib became a Los Angeles Ram, he was on the verge of becoming a San Francisco 49er. The Broncos were in discussions to ship their star corner out west to save salary-cap space and move forward with younger corner, Bradley Roby. An agreement was in place but quickly nixed. And soon after, Talib was reunited with defensive coordinator Wade Phillips in Los Angeles.
“I look at it like the final chapter of my NFL career, that fourth quarter,” Talib would later say. “What better place to do it in than L.A.?”
Though there were reports as to why the deal with San Francisco fell through, 49ers general manager John Lynch explained it further — and explained why they later turned their attention to Richard Sherman — in a recent interview with ESPN’s Golic and Wingo.