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- Richard Sherman is on the free agent market once again
- Identifying potential offseason landing spots for Sherman
- Previewing free agency for one of the sport’s most outspoken characters
In this day and age in the NFL, it’s usually the offensive players who do all the talking, given their ability to roam more freely than they did 15-20 years ago. It’s not often a defensive player can talk smack and effectively back it up year after year, but Richard Sherman has made a career out of proving just how good he tells his opponents he is.
Sherman was at the peak of his powers with the Seattle Seahawks’ infamous secondary last decade, nicknamed “The Legion of Boom.” Along with safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas, Sherman made opposing number one receivers very uncomfortable. Pro Football Focus ranked Sherman as the top cover corner in the league in the 2012, 2013 and 2019 seasons. He also finished top 5 in two other seasons over and above that.
As a soon to be 33 year old who only played in 5 games with the San Francisco 49ers last year, Sherman’s better days are almost certainly behind him, but he can still be a valuable pickup for many teams. He would probably only want to play for teams who have a legitimate chance at winning a Super Bowl.
Let’s look at three teams who might be interested in signing the veteran cornerback.
Colts
While the Colts’ defense definitely doesn’t get the same level of notoriety that the Seahawks defense accrued last decade, Indianapolis still has one of the best units in the league.
Justin Houston, DeForest Buckner, Darius Leonard and Xavier Rhodes are a few of the blue chip players who played for the Colts this past season.
Indianapolis fans will definitely be more concerned about whether the recently acquired Carson Wentz can bounce back, but could feel better about their team’s prospects if they can bolster the strength of their team even further. Adding Sherman to a talented collection of players can help make the Colts downright scary.
Buccaneers
Could the rich get even richer? It remains to be seen what kind of cap space the Buccaneers will have remaining after likely trying to re-sign Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown.
But as stated above, it’s extremely likely that Sherman’s main priority at this stage of his career is winning. There’s arguably no better place to do that right now than in Tampa Bay.
Sean Murphy-Bunting, Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean formed a formidable cornerback trio in 2020, and are all very young players who have the ability to improve in 2021. Sherman could view Tampa as an intriguing place to help leave his mark on an already talented secondary, while pursuing his second championship.
Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens have routinely boasted some of the most impressive cornerback talent in the NFL. For a team that already plays with a ton of swagger, Sherman’s personality might be the perfect fit.
Marcus Peters, Marlon Humphrey, Tavon Young and Jimmy Smith are all signed for 2021, with the first two combining for a total $23.6 million figure in 2021. A Sherman addition would be more of a luxury signing, but Baltimore could be interested in bringing in a veteran looking to recapture the magic. After all, Baltimore did bring in veteran Tramon Williams last November to a banged up secondary, and may want to invest in insurance earlier on this time around.
