We all know Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots love to screw with injury reports. How many straight years did we see Tom Brady listed on the injury report with a right shoulder injury? On Wednesday, Aqib Talib shed some light on the infamous antics.
In his first meeting with reporters since signing with the Denver Broncos, Talib was asked about the hip injury that supposedly hampered him at various points throughout the 2013 season. As Lindsay Jones of USA Today Sports pointed out, Talib denied ever having a hip injury and said it was actually his quad that was hurt. He added that the Pats have their “own way” of reporting injuries.
Someone is lying, and it could be either side. Talib undoubtedly had to convince the Broncos that his hip would not be an issue in order to get them to offer him a $57 million contract with $26 million guaranteed. Claiming he never even had a hip injury would be one way to do that.
Hip injuries are some of the worst cornerbacks can have. The Patriots might have listed Talib with a hip injury all season long to make opponents think he would be vulnerable. Or, if you want to take it a step further, they could have been thinking ahead and trying to make him less enticing as a free agent. The latter theory is probably the least likely to be true.
Either way, no one will be surprised to hear the Patriots being accused of injury report shenanigans.
