Anybody who writes or talks about sports for a living should want to cover players like Richard Sherman. He's opinionated and rarely shies away from speaking about polarizing issues in cunning fashion. At times, he's downright brilliant, such as when he held a press conference with a cardboard cutout version of Doug Baldwin to mock the NFL's restrictive media policies. In other instances, Sherman is petty. He threatened to "ruin" a reporter's career two years ago, because the journalist dared to ask the cornerback tough questions about his criticisms of then-offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.
Regardless, Sherman generates more news than most of his peers. Life is more interesting with people like him around. My advocation for the Patriots to acquire Sherman is coming from an area of bias.
But there are plenty of football reasons to bring the 30-year-old corner aboard, too. For starters, the Patriots will likely need to replace Malcolm Butler this offseason. A birthday wish on Twitter probably isn't enough to mend that broken relationship.
The Patriots have also reportedly expressed interest in Sherman in the past. They inquired about him last year, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. The Herald's Jeff Howe says a source tells him that Sherman remains open to the idea of joining New England.
So there is a need for Sherman and history of mutual attraction. There's also the possibility that Sherman, who's entering the final year of his deal, will be available. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll admitted that to reporters, including WEEI's Ryan Hannable, at the NFL Combine this week.
Sherman comes with risk, considering he ruptured his achilles last season. But his contract is favorable. Even if the Patriots were to add another year to spread out his $13.2 million cap hit, they wouldn't be tied to him long-term. They could always cut him next offseason, and take on some manageable dead money.
Though it's always concerning when an aging skill player suffers an achilles injury, there's reason to think Sherman will bounce back. Prior to last season, he never missed a game due to injury.
The numbers also say that Sherman hasn't declined on the field all that much. Entering 2017, no player yielded a lower passer rating over the previous three seasons than Sherman, per Pro Football Focus.
Amidst all of the uncertainty around the Patriots, one thing is for sure. Tom Brady will be back. That is enough reason to give up assets for Sherman, even if he's only here for one year. Brady played maybe his best postseason game ever against the Eagles in Super Bowl LII. But it was not enough to win, because the Patriots' defense was putrid. As long as Brady is here, the Patriots should always be willing to bring in a short-term boost, provided it doesn't cause them to (once again) part with the heir apparent at quarterback.
Oh, and the Brady-Sherman interactions would be fun. The two have a lot of history together, ranging from "U Mad Bro?" to Sherman being the first person who congratulated Brady at the end of Super Bowl XLIX. Sherman also defended Brady during Deflategate, which is a big point in his favor.
Perhaps I am just talking myself into Sherman because of my insatiable thirst for drama. But the Patriots need a cornerback, and he might be the best player who can be acquired for the best value. Sounds like a perfect Patriot.
