Bill Belichick: Aqib Talib Doesn’t Need Surgery, ‘To The Best Of My Knowledge’

New England Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib had to miss the second half of the AFC Championship Game after taking a hard hit from Denver Broncos receiver Wes Welker, but it appears he avoided a serious injury.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday on WEEI that Talib likely won’t need knee surgery. Talib is a free agent this offseason, so a serious knee injury would have affected his future contract.

“I would say, to the best of my knowledge, I don’t think so,” Belichick said about whether or not Talib would need surgery. “I don’t think we’re talking about an injury that would be of that kind of significance.”

Belichick said players sometimes will have surgery on injuries they dealt with during the season, keeping open the possibility of Talib having a procedure this offseason. Belichick declined to comment further on Welker’s hit, which he called “one of the worst that I’ve seen” on Monday.

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