© Joe Camporeale | 2020 Dec 7
If you listen to Richard Sherman, he’s almost certainly playing in his final season as a member of the 49ers.
“If there’s some miracle that happens then, sure, there’s an opening,” Sherman said of his upcoming free agency. “But there’s 40 free agents and they’ll probably have $30 million or less in cap space. They got to bring back Trent who costs over $20 million, they have to pay Fred who costs, $18 million plus a year. So I mean, anybody who knows the situation understands that.”
It’s fair to say 49ers general manager John Lynch knows the situation, managing San Francisco’s payroll is his primary job after all. Lynch was asked about those comments when he joined KNBR on Friday morning, and confirmed that while it might be difficult to retain Sherman, to say it would be a “miracle” is an exaggeration.
He also said that was “Agent Sherman” talking, as opposed to “Player Sherman.”
“Richard and I have a lot of conversations and I have to ask him, ‘Am I talking to Sherm or am I talking to Agent Sherm?’” Lynch said with a chuckle when speaking with Murph & Mac. “I’m never going to not be truthful to any player, but especially a guy like that. He’s a very straight up guy. By no means have we made a decision that Richard’s not part of our future. I think what we did talk about is we’re dealing with a cap situation that has changed substantially from what we thought might be $225 million pre-pandemic, down to $175, so obviously your plans change and have to. You can’t sign everyone.”
“Having said that we also understand what Sherm brings. He said it right after the Rams win. He brings championship pedigree, swagger, confidence. When I look on that field and he’s there, I feel better. It’s because he’s one of the greats ever to do it. So we’re going to try like heck to fit all these greats in.
“The good news for our fans is there’s a lot of good players who are under contract, we do have a lot of free agents, and there’s a lot of good players there, Sherm being one of them. I think he’s going a little overboard when he says a “miracle,” but there certainly are challenges that are real and we just don’t have a firm answer yet.”
Speaking of future Hall of Famers set to hit free agency, Lynch also spoke on the future of offensive lineman Trent Williams, who sounds like more of a priority this offseason.
“I would love for Trent Williams to be in two Ring of Honors some day, so yes he is very much a priority for us. We thought that when we traded for him. Everyone said ‘You’re getting him for one year,’ but you have a heckuva chance in my mind when you get him in the building and he feels our culture and everything. Trent’s been fantastic.
“Of course we’d love to have Trent be a part of our future here.”