Patriots, Aqib Talib Reach One-Year, $5M Agreement

By Nick Bohlen in Featured, Patriots, Top Story ⋅ March 16, 2013 at 12:45pm ⋅ Post a comment

Aqib Talib will return to the New England Patriots on a one-year, $5 million contract. (Photo courtesy of the Boston Globe)

The New England Patriots carried their Friday frenzy of free agent signings into Saturday, reportedly reaching a one-year, $5 million agreement with cornerback Aqib Talib, according to WEEI’s Christopher Price.

(The report came via ESPN’s Adam Schefter, unsurprisingly, who is apparently “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” of NFL free agency news in terms of his ability to be tapped into everything that is going on.)

The signing of Talib brings the New England secondary into clearer focus, as the Patriots also added Kyle Arrington and Adrian Wilson to bolster the pass defense on Friday. The only question mark remaining is Alfonzo Dennard’s availability following his guilty verdict in the assault of a police officer while at the University of Nebraska.

Talib is the sixth free agent signing by the Patriots this offseason.

Talib joined the Patriots midway though last season in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In six games with New England, Talib had 19 tackles, one interception (returned 59 yards for a touchdown), and two passes defended.

Talib missed time last season serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s drug policy. He also battled injuries for much of the second half of the season, and sat out most of the 2012 AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens after suffering a leg injury early in the contest. After his departure, the Patriots secondary was all but defenseless against soon-to-be-rich Joe Flacco and the Ravens passing attack.

The deal is a surprising, albeit welcome bargain for the Patriots, especially considering he was the cornerstone of the secondary upon his arrival.

About Nick Bohlen - My Twitter

I am a weekly contributor for the Patriots, Celtics, and Red Sox sections of SoB. As a Red Sox fan first and foremost, I am predisposed to expect the worst and masochistically relish it. I apologize in advance with a celebratory '04 David Ortiz (see right).

Tags: Adrian Wilson, alfonzo dennard, Aqib Talib, Baltimore Ravens, Joe Flacco, Kyle Arrington, NFL Free Agency, Tampa Bay Buccaneers