NFC West Notes: Aqib Talib, 49ers, Rams, Seahawks

Aqib Talib

Veteran CB Aqib Talib tells Andy Benoit of SI.com that the only teams he was only willing to play for the Cowboys, Patriots or Rams this season.

“I’m going on year 11, man. I’m not trying to go learn a whole new system. I wanted to go somewhere I’d be comfortable,” Talib said. “I’m comfortable if I can live at my house in Dallas and go just around the corner to work. I cut my bills in half. Or if I can go play in a defensive scheme that I’ve played in before. So I told him Dallas, New England or L.A.”

The Broncos nearly traded Talib to the 49ers this offseason, but he made it clear that he wasn’t interested in playing for them.

“I told him, ‘I ain’t even gonna take no physical in San Fran, so there won’t be no trade,’” Talib said.

This led to the Broncos trading him to the Rams in return for a fifth-round pick.

Rams

Even though Rams RB Todd Gurley has established himself as one of the top running backs in the NFL, passing game coordinator Shane Waldron believes there’s still room for improvement for him.

“Man, he’s pretty good right now,” Waldron said of Gurley, via TheRams.com. “But the one thing with Todd is you see him every day, he does all that stuff like a pro. So I think like anything else, even though he is one of the greatest in the world at what he does, his work ethic and [with] what he puts into it in getting those extra reps, I think he can do nothing but improve.”

“There’s always room for improvement,” Gurley said, “but my main focus is to help the team as much as possible. Focus on running the ball and the routes will take care of themselves.”

Seahawks

• Brady Henderson of ESPN writes that the Seahawks gave veteran WR Brandon Marshall just $90,000 guaranteed as part of his one-year, $1.015M contract, which means he’s by no means a lock to make the 53-man roster this summer.
• According to Henderson, Marshall will first need to get healthy and remain healthy during training camp. From there, Marshall will obvious have to hold off some of the younger receivers on the team and prove he can be a big bodied weapon for Russell Wilson.