Aqib Talib was traded to the New England Patriots on Thursday, capping what was one of the most quiet trade deadline periods in recent memory.
The Buccaneers traded Talib and a 7th-round pick in this year’s draft to the Patriots for a 4th-round pick in 2014.
Talib, a fifth-year cornerback, is serving a four-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy for taking Adderall. He’s already sat out three games, but the Patriots are on their bye. That means Talib will likely miss New England’s first game back from the bye in Week 10 against the Bills.
The trade seems to make sense from both sides.
Talib has had a rash of off-field problems aside from the PED suspension. He was indicted last year for shooting at his sister’s boyfriend, he got into a fight at the rookie symposium in 2008, and he fought a teammate in 2009. New Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano was probably delighted to get rid of the problem child for something of good value.
Meanwhile, Patriots coach Bill Belichick seems to have fallen in love with players who have character issues that he hopes he can fix. The plan worked so well with Randy Moss that New England acquired Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochoinco, who both turned out to be busts for the Pats. Belichick will hope for a better result from Talib, who has proven he can be one of the top cover corners in the league.
New England is ranked 28th in the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns allowed. That’s probably why they figured Talib was worth the gamble despite being in the final year of his contract.
