Richard Sherman, a five-time Pro Bowler and founding member of Seattle’s esteemed “Legion of Boom” secondary, remains a free agent, though the 33-year-old hopes to resurface sometime after the draft.
“It’s on pause,” Sherman told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith when asked what his NFL future holds. “I have to wait through this draft process. Obviously, the first round, a lot of teams got corners, a lot of teams didn’t get the corners they wanted. I think once this draft process completes, my phone will ring a little more with people who expected to get a guy and didn’t get the guy they wanted.”
It’s hard to believe Sherman, a likely Hall of Famer who earned All-Pro recognition as recently as 2019 (he led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance that year, though they would lose to Kansas City), has reached a point in his career where teams would consider him a fallback, but the veteran knows it’s not personal. “I’m not as in control as I was. At 33, it doesn’t matter what you put on tape,” acknowledged Sherman, who arrived in the league as an unheralded fifth-round pick in 2011. “‘Father Time is undefeated, so we’re going to go with the young guy.’ It doesn’t matter what accolades you have, the numbers. It’s just age sometimes. I just have to continue to stay in shape, continue to stay ready.”
Sherman said he’s had talks with the Raiders, Saints and Seahawks (who he spent his first seven seasons with), among other suitors, and hasn’t ruled out a return to San Francisco, though obviously the next two days of the NFL Draft will provide more clarity. After a resurgent 2019, Sherman struggled with injuries last season, only suiting up for five of the Niners’ 16 regular-season games.
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