Aqib Talib Says The Patriots Are So Paranoid That They Lie On Official Injury Reports
Talib told ESPN that he hasn't had a hip injury since 2012, despite being listed on New England's official injury report as having a hip injury several times last year.
He said the Patriots misrepresenting injuries on official reports is "how they do things."
He told ESPN's Jeff Legwold, "I haven't had a hip problem since Tampa. The Patriots have their way of reporting stuff, but I haven't had a hip problem since Tampa. The injury I had was actually a quad injury, it was reported as a hip injury, but that's how they do things."
Here's the report from last year's Patriots-Panthers game, for example:
Bill Belichick is notoriously coy about his injury reports. He lists Tom Brady as "probable" almost every week for no real reason.
There are a bunch of reasons to lie about injuries. NFL coaches are paranoid about everything from opposing players attacking a specific body part to opposing teams tweaking their preparation if they know someone is out injured.
The NFL doesn't take it lightly though. They now fine teams $20,000 for failing to comply with injury reporting standards.