Aqib Talib Warned Brock Osweiler About Leaving Broncos For More Money
By Bryan Altman
DENVER (CBS4) - Before he made the decision to sign with the Houston Texans to the tune of four years and $72 million ($37 million guaranteed), Brock Osweiler was ordained as the heir apparent to Peyton Manning in Denver.
But the Broncos' decision to bench Osweiler for Manning in Week 17 apparently didn't sit well with the 25-year-old quarterback, who decided to depart Denver for greener pastures, both literally and figuratively.
While it's hard to blame Osweiler for cashing in when he had the opportunity to do so, Broncos star cornerback Aqib Talib is of the opinion that he may have made a big mistake heading to Houston and even tried to convince Osweiler to stay with the Broncos.
In an interview on ESPN Radio, Talib explained that he advised Osweiler that "the grass isn't always greener on the other side" and that his lucrative contract and fresh start in Houston may not end up being all it's cracked up to be.
"What I do, I tell the young guys — young guys like Malik [Jackson] and Brock [Osweiler]... I tell them it's not always greener on the other side. I've been on the other side before. It may look like $100 million, but after about two 3-13 seasons, that whole contract is gone. There's a whole new staff in there. Once the guaranteed money is all gone, it ain't really what it look like. I gave him fair warning, man."
Basically, in Talib's eyes, Osweiler left a Super Bowl team that could undoubtedly continue to win games while Osweiler continues to mature in favor of a team that won't give the young quarterback the wiggle room to make the same mistakes he could get away with in Denver. And when that happens, he'll be an easy scapegoat with his big contract and might end up on the chopping block before he knows it.
Talib also opined on Osweiler likely feeling spurned by the Broncos when he was relegated back to the bench when Manning returned, telling ESPN Radio, "If you're a backup quarterback, then that's your job title. You back up and when the starter comes back, you back, backup again."
Talib makes some great points, but only time will tell if Osweiler made the right call betting on himself and taking his talents to Houston.
Before he joined the Broncos in 2014, Talib played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New England Patriots.
Bryan Altman is, for some reason, an unabashed fan of the Rangers, Jets and Mets. If he absolutely had to pick a basketball team it would be the Knicks, but he'd gladly trade them for just one championship for any of his other three teams.
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