Days Numbered For Talib

It’s been a trying offseason for the Denver Broncos.  They’ve seen their starting quarterback retire, their heir apparent shun them for the Houston Texans in free agency and had two key defensive starters leave for greener pastures.

As the champs try to rebuild on the fly, they had yet another blow as starting cornerback Aqib Talib was shot in the leg over the weekend in Dallas.

Talib’s injuries don’t appear to be particularly serious and the team will said in a statement that it has been in touch with the NFL and “will provide additional updates as appropriate.”

According to multiple reports, Talib was injured at a nightclub early Sunday morning in Dallas, where he has an offseason home. WFAA-TV first reported the news.

It appears as if the troubled cornerback will miss the team’s appearance at The White House on Monday as they will be honored by President Obama for their Super Bowl 50 victory.

Broncos fans shouldn’t be surprised by an infraction by their cornerback, as this isn’t the first time he’s been involved in something gun related.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans can tell you that Talib, albeit extremely talented, has always been a knucklehead going back to when he was drafted and got into a fight at the Rookie Symposium.

Since then, he’s been indicted on an aggravated assault charge for an incident near Dallas in 2011; as he “allegedly” beat up and pistol-whipped his sister’s boyfriend and fired shots at him, but the charges were later dismissed for lack of evidence.  Likely after some money changed hands.

In 2015, Talib and his brother, Yaqub Talib were questioned at the scene of an aggravated assault at another Dallas nightclub. Talib was questioned by police and his car was towed and examined for evidence, but he was not charged in the incident.

He has a history of poor decision making off the field, and eventually his immense talent isn’t going to outweigh the eventual issues that he will bring to a locker room.  Until then, the Broncos are going to milk their $57 million investment for all it’s worth, but sources tell us that this year will likely be his last in Denver.

After the conclusion of the 2016 season, Talib will have a dead money charge to the Broncos cap of just $2 million, with an expected salary of $11 million for 2017.  Thus, if the team decides to part ways with the former first-round pick from Kansas, they will save $9 million off their salary cap.

With All-Pro cornerback Chris Harris, Jr. locked up for three more years and talented former first-round pick Bradley Roby ready to expand his role, the Broncos have enough depth to move on from the 30-year old Talib.

Marshall Vows Not To Steal

New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall is one of the most outspoken players in the NFL.  Whether he’s talking about his desire to keep his quarterback, psychological issues or former teammates, the former UCF star is the guy to go to in the locker room if you need a good quote.

Marshall’s latest involves his plans for later in his career, as he vows not to “steal money” from a team.

“Some players, they know they don’t got it anymore and their heart is not in it, and they still take the money,” Marshall told NJ.com earlier this week, adding that he “doesn’t like to steal.”

“That’s taking advantage of your team,” Marshall said. “I get that it’s a business and get everything you want, but you’ve still got to hold yourself accountable and be accountable to your teammates. When I no longer have it, I’ll walk away.”

So when will enough be enough for the stud receiver who put up 109 catches, for 1,502 yards with 14 touchdowns in his first season as a Jet in 2015?

“I don’t know,” Marshall said. “I just know that I still love it. It is tough when you’ve never been to the playoffs, and you’ve just got to have mental toughness to continue to pick yourself up and fight. The hard part, when you get older, it’s all mental. It’s not about: Can you still do it?

“It takes longer to warm up. You have to go through an extensive process to recover. And it’s the guys that commit to that process, are the ones that are able to go from playing at a high level at 30, into their mid-30s, and even in their late 30s. So that’s what I’m understanding now.

“But God has blessed me to be 6-5, 230 pounds, so even when I can’t run anymore, I can be a red-zone threat. I know that’s worth something. Touchdowns are worth a lot of money. So maybe that’s my plan when I hit my mid-30s, is to come in in the red zone.”

Walking away from the game will likely be easier for Marshall than most players, as he’s earned over $64 million on the field to date, with another $9.5 million in salary due in 2016.  Not to mention that he already hosts a show on Showtime and he’s one of the most intelligent, eloquent speakers among athletes which will transition to a nice post-playing career for him.

Chip Kelly Had Little To Do With First-Round Pick

When the San Francisco 49ers used their seventh-overall pick in April’s NFL Draft to select former Oregon defensive end DeForest Buckner, many pointed to former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly’s influence.

Kelly said in a radio interview on 95.7 that Buckner would have been the pick regardless of who was head coach.

“It didn’t matter who was coaching the 49ers,” Kelly said on 95.7 The Game, via NinersNation.com. “And how much our personnel department loved DeForest, I think he would have been the first round draft pick [no matter who was] the head coach.”

Kelly said he tried not to speak much, or at all about Oregon players so as not to influence the scouting staff.

“When it came to players we recruited, I did not weigh in until the end,” Kelly said. “I thought it was important for the people in personnel to give their own opinion, and to talk about him. They were extremely high on him. He was on the top of the board whether I was here or wasn’t here. That just kinda tells you what kind of player and person is. No matter who it was, any team in this league would tell you that DeForest Buckner is a top 10 kind of draft pick, and certainly ended up being one.”

It’s probably a very good thing that Kelly hasn’t been overly involved in personnel decisions.  As a head coach, he’s been an innovator and a winner (to a certain extent) at every level.  As a personnel guy, he disabled the Philadelphia Eagles roster which made him available for the ‘Niners to hire him.

If Kelly can’t figure out how to make chicken salad out of chicken….you know what, it doesn’t matter how many former Ducks he brings on.  The 49ers are set to be one of the worst teams in the NFL in 2016.