Aqib Talib and Wes Welker are teammates again.
While some football fans expected drama between the two Denver Broncos because of Welker’s huge hit on Talib in the playoffs earlier this year, the cornerback said Wednesday that it’s all good.
“Wes is a good friend of mine,” said Talib, who signed with the Broncos this week. “I watched the play 1,000 times, and I can promise you he didn’t do it on purpose.”
Welker’s bone-crunching pick on Talib two months ago was “one of the worst plays” New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said he had “ever seen.” Talib, who suffered a deep bone bruise on the play and didn’t return to the game, appreciated Belichick speaking out about it.
“I respected it because I didn’t really see it, so when he came out and said it was dirty, I was thinking, ‘Oh, it was a dirty hit, too,’ ” Talib said Wednesday, via USA Today. “He came out and defended me. I told him thank you and I respected what he did for me.
“It was a knee-to-knee (hit),” Talib said of the play. “It was like (Welker) kneed me right on the side of my knee. It immediately swelled up and I couldn’t put pressure on it, so it was just like a deep bone bruise at just the wrong spot. That’s just football, we run that play 1,000 times. It just so happened on that play we went the same way. He braced himself. I was looking at the quarterback so I didn’t get a chance to brace myself. It’s football.”
Check out the good friends accidentally crash into each other below.
