Even a couple days removed from the news of Richard Sherman signing with the 49ers, it’s still difficult to fathom. That after seven dominant seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Sherman has joined the team he once antagonized, just one day after he was released.
Despite the whirlwind, Sherman’s decision wasn’t a simple one.
On Monday morning, Sherman spoke with Bay Area reporters via conference call and elaborated on the many layers involved in the splashiest move of the early offseason.
Here are five notable takeaways from the Sherman signing.
1. At the time of his release, around 1 p.m. last Friday, Sherman was in Las Vegas for NFLPA meetings. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch contacted Sherman right after the news broke. Sherman and his fiancee, Ashley Moss, subsequently flew to San Francisco for a five-hour dinner with Shanahan and his wife, Mandy. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh later joined, according to Sherman.
“It was chaos honestly,” Sherman said about the entire process. “They reached out almost immediately. I really appreciated that because it showed their commitment, their excitement.”
Both sides met more on Saturday morning, and the rest is history. That the deal was solidified so quickly speaks to Lynch, Shanahan, and contract specialist Paraag Marathe’s acumen in these types of scenarios.
Sherman, a three-time first-team All-Pro, would have likely been a hot commodity around the league as he neared his first free agency period. The 49ers ensured that didn’t happen.
2. Lynch has said he would use quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo as leverage in recruiting pitches. It seemed to work with Sherman.
He said the quarterback situation was a “huge part” of signing with San Francisco. Sherman praised Garoppolo’s poise, leadership, and the respect he earned from teammates in a short time last season.
Mesh those traits with playing in Kyle Shanahan’s complex offense, and Sherman was convinced this unit would be a force for years to come.
“Kyle is one of the most innovative and creative minds in football,” Sherman said. “I told him such, from playing against him and seeing the schemes. He was always coming up with two or three concepts we had never seen, and we really didn’t have answers.”
3. Most players have to muscle through a transitional phase with a new team, but Sherman is an exception. In terms of fit, he is the prototype for Saleh’s Cover 3 defense, the only system Sherman has played in throughout his career.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a transition at all,” Sherman said. “I think I am going to fit in and know exactly what I need to do and where I need to be.”
The concern is his health. Sherman sustained an Achilles rupture in Week 9 of the 2017 season. These types of injuries typically require around six-to-eight months of rehab. Until he plays, no one will know whether Sherman will return to his All-Pro form.
But he’s betting on himself to.
His contract is largely incentivized regarding his availability and quality of play. Sherman can cash in if he fulfills certain incentives, including passing a physical on the first day of training camp, playing at least 90 percent of 2018 snaps, making the 2019 Pro Bowl, and being named to the A.P. All-Pro team.
The soon-to-be 30-year-old expects to be ready by the start of training camp. As someone who has played with an edge since being drafted in the 5th round of the 2011 draft, Sherman plans to use any doubt as motivation.
“I have always played that way, and it is reigniting that gasoline fire I have always had burning,” Sherman said. “It’s throwing a lot more gas, and I am thankful for this motivation and this inspiration. I got a lot of people to show, and I am excited at those prospects.”
4. Yes, the San Francisco-Seattle rivalry is a bitter one with a recent history of dramatic games and memorable trash talk from a certain instigator. Sherman’s infamous rant after the Seahawks beat the 49ers in the 2014 NFC Championship marks a memorable chapter in the rivalry.
He clarified that his bitterness was directed at that particular 49ers team. He specifically identified former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh.
With the Shanahan regime entering its second year, and Saleh — who was a quality control coach in Seattle in Sherman’s first three years —running the defense, Sherman sees a staff he familiarizes with and respects.
The old memories of Sherman dominating the 49ers may still be engrained in the minds of 49ers fans. But if he plays to the high standard he has set throughout his career, odds are the San Francisco faithful will come around.
5. Sherman didn’t exit Seattle on rosy terms. While he holds the city and organization in high esteem, he clearly didn’t like how the once–dominant Seattle defense was broken up.
“It’s really unfortunate,” Sherman said. “We had something special with that group and worked really hard together.”
Sherman cited “business decisions” as reason for the ‘Legion of Boom’s’ demise.
With all of this considered, Sherman said playing his former team at least twice per year factored into his decision.
“(I am) trying my best to ruin their day, perhaps,” Sherman said. “I want a chance to show what I can do.”
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