Sean McVay praises now-former Rams cornerback Aqib Talib

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The Rams unloaded the balance of cornerback Aqib Talib‘s salary, giving up a 2020 fifth-round pick and receiving in return a 2022 seventh-rounder from Miami. The move saved $4.235 million in cash and cap space for the Rams, and the Rams can now devote that to signing other players, like cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

With Talib officially gone from L.A., Rams coach Sean McVay spent time praising him in a conference call with reporters.

“Aqib has meant a whole lot,” McVay said. “He’s meant a whole lot to our team. I think just the confidence, the swagger, the veteran leadership that he’s brought. He’s been, really, a big part of what’s gone on since he got here and he’s been nothing but positive since he got here. Like I’ve said, I think he’s a Hall of Fame player. Everything that we do is in the best interest of the team long term and short term and just based on some of the things that came from that, that was really what went into the decision. Nothing but a lot of good things from our end on Aqib, what he’s meant to us and, specifically, what he’s meant to me.”

Talib will bring none of that to the Dolphins; he’s on injured reserve with fractured ribs, and he won’t be eligible to return until after Week 15. There’s a good chance he’ll never wear a Dolphins uniform.

Ultimately, it’s a miniature version of the Brock Osweiler hot-potato trade, where one team dumps guaranteed salary and the other buys a draft pick. For Miami, getting a 2020 fifth-round pick and giving up a 2022 seventh-rounder was worth $4.235 million. In 2017, the Browns bought a second-round pick from the Texans for $15.25 million, given the offset arising from the $775,000 deal Osweiler signed in Denver after being released.

For the Rams, the question became whether to pay the $4.235 million and hope to get something from Talib late in the regular season or in the postseason, or whether to unload the salary and move on. For Talib, the good news is that he’ll save more than $560,000 in state income taxes by swapping California’s 13.3-percent rate for Florida’s zero-point-zero.