The Denver Broncos had to do something after getting destroyed in the Super Bowl. The team improved their defense on Tuesday with the signing of Aqib Talib to a six-year, $57 million deal. Talib made the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career last season with the New England Patriots. The biggest thing about this deal is the fact that Denver made a quick move to replace Champ Bailey with a better player.
Talib is just 28 years old and was used to stop a team’s top receiving threat. That’s bad news for the best wide receivers and tight ends in the AFC West. The Broncos were smashed in a way that hasn’t been seen in the Super Bowl in a long time. They had to do something after giving up 43 points to a Seattle Seahawks team that wasn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut like the Broncos were, scoring 189 fewer points in the regular season than Denver did.
The Broncos weren't done fixing the defense either with the addition of safety T.J. Ward. Ward had some injury issues with the Cleveland Browns but had his best season in 2013 and finished with 112 tackles. Those are two moves in Talib and Ward that have to signal something very clear in my opinion. This is likely going to be Peyton Manning’s last season and the team is doing everything in their power to get him back to the Super Bowl one last time to finish on a great note. He would love to play better in the biggest game as well probably after one of his worst games ever at Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium.
Denver fans will see Talib and Ward get a chance at the Seahawks at some point during the 2014 season, likely to be the opening Thursday night game of the season, and will be waiting to see if the Broncos can make another march towards the Lombardi Trophy. The trek to Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona began for Denver on Wednesday and it looks like the Broncos made two solid moves to begin free agency. The season is only six months away and Denver's players are likely counting the days down.
