Aqib Talib says he tried to warn Brock Osweiler about the grass not always being greener, but apparently the quarterback’s desire for more green won out this offseason.
Talib said Monday on ESPN Radio he warned Osweiler that leaving the Denver Broncos in free agency might not be his best decision.
“What I do, I tell the young guys — young guys like Malik (Jackson) and Brock — I tell them it’s not always greener on the other side,” Talib said on ESPN Radio’s “Russilo and Kannell,” as transcribed by For The Win. “I’ve been on the other side before. It may look like $100 million, but after about two 3-13 seasons, that whole contract is gone. There’s a whole new staff in there. Once the guaranteed money is all gone, it ain’t really what it look like. I gave him fair warning, man.”
That fair warning apparently wasn’t enough to dissuade Osweiler from signing elsewhere. The 25-year-old with 305 career passing attempts bolted for the Houston Texans, signing an enormous four-year, $72 million contract.
The end of Osweiler’s time in Denver reportedly wasn’t pretty. According to reports, there wasn’t much discussion between the quarterback and the Broncos, as Osweiler reportedly felt slighted by the team’s decision to go back to Peyton Manning during the 2015 season after Osweiler filled in for Manning while he was injured.
It sounds like Talib isn’t a fan of that thinking, either.
“If you’re a backup quarterback, then that’s your job title,” he stated, per For the Win. “You back up, and when the starter comes back, you back, backup again.”
There’s likely more where this came from. The Broncos and Texans will meet during the 2016 season as Denver defends its Super Bowl title.
Thumbnail photo via Jake Roth/USA TODAY Sports Images
