Rams sign former Packers starting CB Sam Shields; Reportedly have deal with CB Aqib Talib
Sam Shields made 23 interceptions, including the playoffs, from 2010-2015. He also won a Super Bowl with the Packers. Sam Shields made 23 interceptions, including the playoffs, from 2010-2015. He also won a Super Bowl with the Packers.
LOS ANGELES (AP) The Los Angeles Rams have made another addition to their defense, bringing in former Packers starting cornerback Sam Shields.
In a separate move, Aqib Talib is reuniting with Wade Phillips in Los Angeles after the Denver Broncos agreed to trade the star cornerback to the Rams, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The NFL Network first reported the agreement.
The Rams will send Denver a mid-round pick, believed to be a fifth-rounder, in next month's draft for the perennial Pro Bowl cornerback, said the person, who spoke off the record because the trade isn't official until the start of the new league year Wednesday.
''Man, I'm so excited,'' Talib told The Associated Press from Dallas on Thursday night. ''I can't wait to play for Coach Sean McVay, go back with working with Wade, and playing with my young man, Marcus Peters. He's going to bring that young energy back to me.
''I'm super excited to play with those guys. Aaron Donald is a good friend of mine, too, so I get to go from playing behind Von Miller to playing behind Aaron Donald. That's not too shabby. I got another MVP in front of me.''
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Shields made 23 interceptions, including the playoffs, from 2010-2015. He also won a Super Bowl with the Packers. But his 2016 season was cut short after one game after he suffered a concussion and he didn't play at all in 2017.
Shields' signing Thursday was only the latest defensive move by the Rams. Los Angeles on Wednesday agreed to trade linebacker Alec Ogletree to the New York Giants for two draft picks.
The Rams also agreed last month to acquire cornerback Marcus Peters in a trade with Kansas City, and Los Angeles also used its franchise tag on safety Lamarcus Joyner. Those moves likely mean top cornerback Trumaine Johnson will leave as a free agent.
In Los Angeles, Talib will reunite with Phillips, who was his defensive coordinator in Denver until last year, and will play alongside a fellow star defensive back in Peters, whom the Rams are acquiring from Kansas City .
Talib said Donald was the first Ram to reach out to him after word of the deal got out Thursday night. They share an agent in Todd France.
Talib said he'll miss playing with Harris, his college teammate at Kansas, and the rest of the Broncos, however.
''It's a business, man, so them guys understand,'' Talib said. ''Chris hit me up. We're all talented corners and they couldn't pay all of us. They got that quarterback situation they've got to fix.'