Los Angeles sent injured cornerback Aqib Talib and a 2020…

This was less a conventional player trade than a transaction built around timing, cap space and draft value. Aqib Talib was on injured reserve with a rib injury and nearing the end of his contract. Los Angeles had already changed its secondary dramatically, trading Marcus Peters and acquiring Jalen Ramsey. Keeping Talib on the books offered little competitive benefit, so the Rams attached a 2020 fifth-round selection and sent him to Miami for a 2022 seventh-round pick.

Miami was in the opposite position. The Dolphins were rebuilding, had little need for immediate wins and possessed enough cap flexibility to absorb Talib’s remaining salary. Talib never appeared in a game for Miami, which was entirely predictable given his injury status and pending free agency. The value was the draft upgrade: Miami effectively exchanged a far-off seventh-rounder for a fifth-round pick two years sooner while using cap room that otherwise had limited value during a reset.

The Rams benefited too. Clearing Talib’s salary created flexibility after the club had made an expensive commitment to Ramsey and was managing a roster filled with veteran contracts. A fifth-round pick was a real cost, but Los Angeles was paying for immediate financial relief rather than pretending Talib still held meaningful trade value as an injured player.

The later pick history does not turn either side into a franchise-changing winner. Miami’s acquired No. 173 was subsequently moved rather than becoming a long-term Dolphins star, and the Rams’ 2022 seventh-rounder was also later traded. The value was mostly strategic at the moment of exchange.

Miami retains the win and moves to A because it used cap space to buy a meaningful jump in draft capital. Los Angeles improves to B because the salary relief served a clear roster purpose. The previous C grade treated the Rams as though they simply gave away a fifth-rounder, when in reality they purchased flexibility they actively wanted.