No trades can happen for NFL teams until Wednesday. The Rams have four of them ready to go.
The trade for cornerback Aqib Talib becomes the latest tentative transaction for the NFC West champions, giving them a pair of soon-to-be-former AFC West cornerbacks. Talib, currently a Bronco, joins soon-to-be-former Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters. Adding to the intrigue: The Rams play all four AFC West teams in 2018, meaning Talib will see the Broncos, and Peters will see the Chiefs.
The Rams also will be trading two key defensive players to other teams, sending defensive lineman Robert Quinn to the Dolphins and linebacker Alec Ogletree to the Rams.
The Talib deal reunites player and coordinator; in Denver, Wade Phillips ran a defense that included Talib -- and that won a championship. These four moves show the strong influence of Phillips, who touted his personnel skills in last year’s autobiography, on the composition of the defense. And Phillips surely is confident that he can manage a pair of strong personalities in Talib and Peters.