Talib Suffers Gunshot Wound, Will Miss White House Visit
ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Pro Football Writer
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Star cornerback Aqib Talib will miss the Denver Broncos' trip to the White House on Monday after getting shot at a Dallas nightclub early Sunday morning.
Talib, who was shot in the lower right leg, wasn't expected to be released from a Dallas hospital until Monday, team spokesman Patrick Smyth said. So, he "wont' be able to join the team for its trip to Washington," where the team will celebrate its Super Bowl 50 title, Smyth said.
Earlier, the Broncos said they had spoken with Talib and "we are glad he is OK and will make a full recovery."
Although he wasn't expected to require surgery, it's not known how much time, if any, Talib might have to miss because of his gunshot wound, which Smyth said was described as minor.
The team's three-day mandatory minicamp starts Tuesday and there's a final set of offseason practices next week before the champs scatter until training camp in late July.
Last week, Talib said he was eager to meet President Barack Obama and had purchased a custom-made suit for the occasion.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how that looks," Talib said after practice Tuesday. "Meet Obama before he get up out (of there). Something I've never done before. With these guys, too, man, there are so many characters in this locker room, so just to be able to do something I've never done before with these guys, it will be a blast for us."
The Broncos were trying to get more information on the shooting of their Pro Bowl cornerback and have been in contact with the NFL.
On Sunday afternoon, Dallas police posted a blog about the overnight shootings of Talib and another person, but the links to the incident reports were invalid because the reports weren't uploaded,
Police told The Dallas Morning News that Talib was one of two people shot in an altercation at the Vlive club and that both victims were hospitalized with non-life-threatening wounds.
Broncos cornerback Kayvon Webster tweeted, "My boy Talib is fine thanking man upstairs!"
Along with fellow Pro Bowl cornerback Chris Harris Jr., Bradley Roby and Webster, Talib makes up what's considered by many the best cornerback crew in the NFL. His 30 interceptions and eight pick-6s are tops in the league since 2008, his rookie year in Tampa Bay.
Talib is entering his ninth NFL season and third in Denver. He signed a six-year, $57 million contract in 2014 that includes a base salary of $8.5 million for this upcoming season and a roster bonus of nearly $500,000.
Last year he made $5.5 million minus one game check of $323,529 after being suspended for deliberately poking an Indianapolis Colts player in the eye after a play the previous week.
Talib finished the season with 45 tackles, 13 pass breakups and three interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns, in earning his third consecutive Pro Bowl berth.
He helped shut down Carolina's vaunted offense in the Super Bowl, breaking up two of Cam Newton's passes and collecting five tackles in Denver's 24-10 win. He also drew a pair of personal foul penalties in that game, for taunting and facemask fouls in the second quarter that resulted in fines totaling $26,044.
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