Richard Sherman

Richard Sherman Acting As His Own Agent

February 9th, 2018 at 9:59am CST by Zachary Links

Richard Sherman says he expects to be back with the Seahawks in 2018, as Brady Henderson of ESPN.com writes. The cornerback also revealed that he has been acting as his own agent for at least a year, which is a gutsy move since he is at a pivotal point in his career.

“I’m sure we’ll have some communication,” Sherman said in reference to him and the Seahawks. “I’m representing myself. The whole agent thing is really overrated at this point. So any conversations we have, we’ll do that, but the cap situation is already kind of weird, so we’ll see what happens.”

Left tackle Russell Okung opted to work without an agent when his Seahawks contract expired in 2016, which yielded mixed results. In that offseason, he signed a free agent deal with the Broncos that effectively gave him one-year, $5MM deal with no guarantees at the time of signing plus a team option to trigger a four-year, $48MM deal with $20.5MM guaranteed afterwards. It’s unlikely that an agent would have advised him to take that risk and the gamble backfired when he turned in a so-so season. After the Broncos cut him, however, he inked a four-year, $53MM deal with the Chargers, including $25MM in effective guarantees.

Even without officially employing an agent, Okung leaned on former agent Jimmy Halsell as an advisor. If Sherman is asked to take a pay cut or is ultimately released, he would be wise to consult with a professional rather than forging out on his own.

Sherman is coming off of Achilles surgery and entering the final year of his deal. His $11MM base salary for 2018 is non-guaranteed, so the Seahawks are expected to consider moving on from their longtime star. It may be hard to picture Sherman in a uniform other that Seattle’s, but before last year’s draft, the Seahawks explored trades for Sherman and even dropped their asking price to a 2017 first-round pick plus a conditional mid-round choice in 2018.

For his part, Sherman says he isn’t worried about the prospect of parting ways with the only franchise he’s ever known.

“Not in my mind,” he said. “We’re going to try to get everything back on track, get healthy and try to get back after it. Hopefully everybody heals up the way they’re supposed to. I hope Kam [Chancellor] can play and it works out however it needs to for him. But obviously, [the roster is] going to look different either way.”

NFC West Notes: Seahawks, Woods, Peters

December 1st, 2017 at 7:39pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Seahawks have dealt with multiple injuries on the defensive side this season. Marquee performers like Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril have all been ruled out for the year and in the case of Avril and Chancellor, their overall football careers could really be in jeopardy.

Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times writes in a column, with the help of former NFL agent Joel Corry, how he expects the team will handle a few of these injury situations from a cap point of view in 2018. The most complicated of the group seems to be Chancellor, who’s contract runs through the 2020 season. By simply retiring, the strong safety would alleviate a lot of Seattle’s cap problems, but he’s unlikely to do that given all the money that’s left for him to make. Condotta notes that if the safety was inactive to start the season, he would still make a guaranteed $6.8MM if he remains on the roster by February 10, 2018. With this in mind, it seems likely that the front office would opt to wait things out to see how the soon-to-be 30-year-old responds next year given the salary cap situation. However, unlike Chancellor, Avril is likely not to be back with the Seahawks on his current deal given that the team can save $7.5MM if he were released or retires. Seattle could look to bring him back on a lesser, more incentive-rich contract if he were to be released.

The piece adds some more in-depth cap information as well, and is really a good deep dive into how the Seahawks will handle some of their trickier contract situations given that they are right up against the cap at the moment.

On more positive Seahawks injury news, head coach Pete Carroll spoke positively about the chances starting defensive backs Earl Thomas and Shaquill Griffin would be able to play Sunday, reports Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. “He’s fine,” Carroll said of Thomas. “He had something we just tended to yesterday, a sore foot, and that was it. Not a big deal.” The star safety was listed as questionable on Thursday, but looks to be on track to suit up this weekend. Griffin missed last week’s game against the 49ers with a concussion, but he will be back too, according to Henderson.
Breakout Rams wide receiver Robert Woods was sidelined for the team’s win over the Saints last week and will most assuredly be out for Week 13 as well. However, head coach Sean McVay told reporters this afternoon that he’s “shooting for” Woods to return by December 10, although the young coach did clarify that the more likely return date would be a week later than that, tweets Aiden Gonzalez of ESPN.com. Woods has been a real impact free agent for LA, especially in recent weeks, as he’s recorded 20 catches and four touchdowns in the last three games he played. Without the 25-year-old receiver, the Rams will more heavily rely on Sammy Watkins, Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds.
The Cardinals officially agreed to a contract extension with defensive tackle Corey Peters earlier in the day. Now we are learning more about the specific finances of the new deal looks like. The 29-year-old defensive lineman will earn $12MM over three years with $7.25MM being paid in total guarantees, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Rapoport adds that Peters’ deal also includes a $2.75MM signing bonus and incentives that could add another $1MM to the total value of the contract.

NFC Notes: Winston, Wilson, Lane, Saints O-Line

November 17th, 2017 at 8:26pm CST by GregGoldstein

We now know that the NFL is investigating an incident regarding Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston and an uber driver from last year. The female uber driver claimed that the former number one overall pick groped her during a ride, but Winston has denied those allegations. but adding onto this story, Steve Wyche of NFL.com reports in a Twitter video, that the 23 year-old signal caller will not go on the exempt list because no charges have filed as of yet.

However, it might not be long until the quarterback faces suspension from the league, according to Roy Cummings of Florida Football Insiders. Cummings says that while Winston may avoid suspension for the rest of the year because the investigation could take some time, but notes that sexual assault allegations have resulted in missed time in the past. The writer points to when Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for four games back when he faced similar charges in 2010.

The story is still unfolding, so while Winston’s playing outlook is in flux given his current injury, this situation adds an unexpected twist to his 2017 season and perhaps even in 2018.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson shed some light on the jaw injury that he suffered vs. Arizona last Thursday in a session with the media today. The signal caller said that while he wasn’t concussed in the game, his jaw injury forced him to undergo some drastic treatment in the days after, according to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. Condotta relays that Wilson was forced to wear a mouthguard and could not eat solid foods for the three days following the midweek contest. “Basically, the game was on Thursday, so Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I was pretty sore,” he said. “Tons of ice and treatment and all of that, so I feel good now. … the first two-and-a-half, three days, I couldn’t really eat anything. I was just doing smoothies and all that kind of stuff.” While the injury does sound painful, it looks like Wilson is going to tough it out for Monday night’s game vs. the Falcons.
While Wilson will remain in the starting lineup, another team leader in Richard Sherman will miss the rest of the season. With that news finally settling in for Seahawks fans, Condotta also passes along that cornerback Jeremy Lane will replace him in the defensive backfield (Twitter link). Lane was notably rescinded in the Duane Brown trade because he failed the Texans physical, and now finds himself as a key cog to Seattle staying afloat in a competitive NFC playoff picture.
The Saints have been one of the hottest teams in football winning their last seven games after dropping their first two at the start of the regular season. A big reason for this has been the emergence of arguably the league’s best 1-2 backfield punch that includes veteran Mark Ingram and rookie Alvin Kamara. However, Joel Erickson of the New Orleans Advocate notes that the team has been helped by some notable early returns on their offensive line. Erickson states that three of the team’s starting lineman have returned sooner than expected, including guard Larry Warford, center Max Unger and left tackle Terron Armstead. Warford returned this past Sunday from an abdominal strain, missing only two games, Unger progressed ahead of schedule from offseason Lisfranc surgery and Armstead’s return was premature after suffering a torn labrum. All three lineman have helped the Saints offense change it’s identity to a more ground and pound style, which has been on full display in the past seven weeks.

Latest On Seahawks’ Richard Sherman

November 16th, 2017 at 4:05pm CST by Zachary Links

Richard Sherman‘s season is over and it’s possible that his Seahawks tenure could be behind him as well. This offseason, Seattle will have to decide whether to carry the cornerback’s $11MM salary and $13.2MM cap number for 2018. If they feel that the cost is prohibitive, they could ask Sherman to take a pay cut or just release him outright.

With that in mind, the Seahawks will be paying close attention to Sherman’s recovery. He just recently went under the knife to fix his ruptured Achilles tendon, but Sherman says he has been given a timetable that should allow him to get back on the practice field in May or June (via Liz Mathews of USA Today).

Sherman has been one of the league’s strongest (and most outspoken) cornerbacks for several years running. However, he turns 30 on March 30th and the Seahawks might look to put their dollars in a different direction. The offensive line, for example, could use a revamp, even after the acquisition of Duane Brown.

Sherman ranks as the 20th ranked cornerback in the NFL this year, per Pro Football Focus. His 82.7 overall score is solid, but it is also a career-low.

The good news for Seattle is that teammate Justin Coleman is in the midst of a career year and rates as PFF’s No. 26 CB. They also have Jeremy Lane (back with Seattle after the initial Brown trade was scrapped), third-round pick Jeremy Lane, and the newly-signed Byron Maxwell. If that group can do a good job of holding down the fort, it could push the Seahawks to part ways with Sherman in the spring.

Seahawks’ Richard Sherman Done For Year

November 9th, 2017 at 11:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Richard Sherman‘s season is over. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll confirmed to reporters after Thursday night’s game that Sherman has suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times). The cornerback will be placed on injured reserve in the coming days.

Sherman told reporters, including Gregg Bell of The News Tribune (Twitter link) that his Achilles has been bothering him since the Rams game back on Oct. 8. He figured it would rupture eventually, but he wanted to keep playing for his teammates. Tonight, he heard a pop and his worst fears were confirmed by doctors in the locker room.

The Seahawks’ options for out-of-house reinforcements are somewhat limited now that the trade deadline has passed. Vontae Davis will be a free agent once he formally clears waivers on Friday, but he is said to be considering season-ending groin surgery. For now, the Seahawks seem likely to fill from within using Justin Coleman, Neiko Thorpe, and Jeremy Lane alongside Shaquill Griffin. It’s also possible that DeShawn Shead will be able to return from IR at some point this year.

Sherman is in the third year of a four-year, $56MM contract extension he inked with the Seahawks back in 2014. The deal calls for a cap number of $13.6MM this year followed by $13.2MM in 2018. In theory, if the Seahawks wanted to put their resources in another direction, they could release Sherman and save $11MM against the cap while carrying just $2.2MM in dead money.

Sherman is still among the league’s best cornerbacks, but it’s a situation to keep an eye on if he does not regain all of his explosiveness after surgery. The Seahawks may seek to tamp down his 2018 cap number, perhaps via a pay cut or a more team-friendly extension.

This marks Sherman’s first incomplete season since entering the league as a fifth-round pick in the 2011 draft. In his six previous seasons, he had perfect regular season attendance while earning five Pro Bowl nods and two First-Team All-Pro selections.

East Rumors: Redskins, Elliott, Cutler

September 17th, 2017 at 10:35am CST by Rory Parks

Redskins safety Su’a Cravens is expected to report to the team Tuesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Cravens, of course, informed the club several weeks ago that he intended to retire only to reverse his decision almost immediately. Cravens has been in contact with head coach Jay Gruden, and the two have discussed football and life issues. As Rapoport suggests, the fact that Cravens is reporting does not necessarily mean that he will suit up right away, given that he is battling an injury and, as his recent history suggests, may be at a crossroads in his young life. Nonetheless, it is a positive step for one of the more promising defensive talents in the league.

Now for more from the league’s east divisions:

The Redskins reshuffled their front office in June, but per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the team considered adding another executive during training camp. Washington reportedly brought in James “Shack” Harris, Charles Bailey, Bill Kuharich, and Ron Hill to watch practice and meet with other staffers, but the team ultimately decided to stand pat and does not plan to make any other additions at this time.
Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has never been arrested or charged with a crime, but since June 2014, Elliott’s name has appeared in at least four investigations concerning assault, battery, domestic violence, and disorderly conduct, as Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News writes. The entire piece is well worth a read, and it suggests a troubling pattern of behavior that Elliott will need to correct in order to live up to his sky-high potential.
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald says Dolphins quarterback Jay Cutler has impressed the team with his demeanor and work ethic, and if he plays well this season, Salguero writes that Miami would consider re-signing him and trading Ryan Tannehill, thereby creating a great deal of cap room and netting an early draft choice in the process. We are a long way from that happening, of course, but if Cutler somehow becomes a modern-day Jim Plunkett, Tannehill could be on a different sideline in 2018.
We recently learned that the Dolphins were interested in trading for Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that Miami went hard after the star DB, making attempts to land him both back early in the free-agency signing period and as recently as last month.
Patriots LB Dont’a Hightower was riding a stationary bike after he left the team’s Week 1 contest with a right knee injury, leading to optimism that he might be ready for Week 2. However, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports that Hightower sought a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews last week, which Hightower did not deny. Problems with his right knee forced Hightower to begin training camp on the physically unable to perform list, and given that New England’s defense clearly needs him, this is a situation worth monitoring.

NFC Notes: OBJ, Sherman, Barr, Freeman

September 14th, 2017 at 7:52pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. returned to practice Thursday and is likely to make his season debut this week, which should be a boon to an offense that looked lost on season-opening Sunday. However, OBJ won’t be at full strength for a little while longer. The ankle injury that has bothered him since mid-August comes with a six- to eight-week recovery timeline, he revealed to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com and other reporters Thursday. The Giants’ game against the Lions on Monday will mark exactly four weeks since Beckham suffered the injury, notes Raanan, meaning Big Blue might not see him at his best until the end of this month or sometime in October.

Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman has missed two straight practices with a hamstring issue, perhaps jeopardizing his chances of playing against San Francisco on Sunday. Watching the game in street clothes would be a first for Sherman, a seventh-year man who has played in 97 straight contests since the Seahawks added him as a fifth-round pick in 2011. Defensive coordinator Kris Richard suggested Thursday that Sherman’s streak will continue, telling reporters (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times) that he’s “not even considering” going without the corner because “it’s never happened here.”
Like Sherman, Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr has missed back-to-back practices with a hamstring injury. He’s now at risk of sitting out a game this week for the first time since December 2015, per The Associated Press. Barr played all 62 of the Vikings’ defensive snaps in their win over New Orleans on Monday. With or without the two-time Pro Bowler, the Vikings will face a difficult road test in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Bears linebacker Jerrell Freeman announced on Instagram on Thursday that he suffered a torn pectoral on the first play of their loss to the Falcons in Week 1, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Tribune relays (on Twitter). Remarkably, Freeman still played roughly 95 percent of the Bears’ defensive snaps and racked up 10 tackles in their 23-17 defeat. The Bears placed Freeman on injured reserve this week and will go without him until at least November.

Dolphins Had Interest In Richard Sherman

September 13th, 2017 at 12:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Seahawks were known to have discussed cornerback Richard Sherman with the Patriots this offseason, but apparently New England wasn’t the only AFC East club to have inquired on the All Pro defensive back. The Dolphins also asked about Sherman’s availability, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, and while receiver Jarvis Landry was “raised” in talks, there’s no indication Landry was ever formally offered in negotiations.

Miami is no stranger to acquiring former Seattle cornerbacks, as the club picked up Byron Maxwell (after a one-year layover in Philadelphia) last season. But the Dolphins are still weak in the secondary, as second-year pro Xavien Howard and Alterraun Verner are the team’s top options behind Maxwell (Tony Lippett is out for the season, but his injury occurred after any presumptive Sherman talks). Recently, Miami went hard after free agent corner Joe Haden before he signed with the Steelers.

Sherman, who is due base salaries north of $11MM in each of the next two seasons, reportedly requested a trade out of Seattle, and the Seahawks attempted to honor his ask, but discussions seemingly never got serious with any other club. The Patriots were in the Sherman market but ultimately bowed out, possibly because of Seattle’s high asking price (a 2017 first-round pick plus a conditional mid-round choice in 2018).

Landry, meanwhile, has also been mentioned in trade rumors, although the Dolphins have refuted those reports. Scheduled to become a free agent next spring, Landry still hasn’t been offered an extension by Miami, which may prefer fellow wideout DeVante Parker. The franchise tag probably isn’t an option for the 24-year-old Landry, as the $16MM+ tender figure is likely untenable for a receiver who primarily plays in the slot.

Extra Points: Strike, Rams, Relocation

July 12th, 2017 at 9:05pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Contracts are guaranteed in the NBA, where even mediocre players are capable of landing mega-deals, leading some NFLers to publicly express displeasure with the fact that their league’s deals are non-guaranteed. While discussing that issue Wednesday, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman offered a possible solution, albeit a controversial one.

“If we want as the NFL, as a union, to get anything done, players have to be willing to strike,” Sherman told ESPN’s Jalen Rose. “That’s the thing that guys need to 100 percent realize. You’re going to have to miss games, you’re going to have to lose some money if you’re willing to make the point, because that’s how MLB and NBA got it done. They missed games, they struck, they flexed every bit of power they had, and it was awesome. It worked out for them.”

NFL players haven’t gone on strike since 1987, though there was a brief lockout in 2011. With the collective bargaining agreement the owners and players negotiated then set to expire after the 2020 season, more labor strife is seemingly brewing. Back in February, months before Sherman’s strike recommendation, union boss DeMaurice Smith shot down the possibility of extending the CBA, and the players hadn’t given him permission as of last month to begin talks with the league on a new agreement.

Latest On Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas

June 15th, 2017 at 9:08am CST by Connor J. Byrne

A report earlier this offseason indicated that the Seahawks’ Richard Sherman requested a trade, but the cornerback denied that was the case on Wednesday.

“It’s just a conversation they have every year. I guess this year, more people knew about it,” Sherman said (via the Associated Press). “It’s a conversation they have every year — everybody’s open, everybody’s available. They just made sure I knew, and you guys found out. Pretty open about it. It was never a situation where anybody asked for it. It was just a conversation.”

Regardless of whether the seventh-year man asked out of Seattle, the club did shop him, as each of Sherman, general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll have acknowledged as much. The Seahawks were unable to find anyone to bite on their reportedly lofty asking price, though, so the four-time Pro Bowler is set to helm the team’s Legion of Boom secondary once again in 2017. Sherman seems content do that, as the 29-year-old doesn’t harbor any ill feelings against Seattle and suggested the team was only doing its due diligence in placing him on the block.

“If somebody comes with two first-rounders, I wouldn’t blame them in the least, you know? I wouldn’t blame them at all,” he stated (per Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com). “It’d be another crazy trade. Who was it that got traded like that? Herschel Walker or something like that? But it’s just conversation. I think we have a fantastic relationship and always have. And it’s always been transparent to have those communications and not have them in a rude or discourteous way, but just professionally.”

While there were questions earlier in the offseason over whether Sherman would be a Seahawk in 2017, concerns existed that teammate and safety Earl Thomas, a fellow member of the Legion of Boom, wouldn’t play at all. The 28-year-old considered retirement after suffering a season-ending broken tibia in December, and he explained to 710 ESPN Seattle earlier this week why he nearly called it a career after seven years.

“I’m a speedster. So when I initially broke it, I’m like, ‘Dang, my career’s over with.’ That’s why I sent the tweet out,” said Thomas (via Kapadia). “Obviously I was very disappointed. I felt like I was having the best year of my career. But as you go through it, you learn, you understand that you can bounce back. And that’s where I’m at at this point.”

Unsurprisingly, financial reasons played a part in Thomas’ decision to return. Discussing when he decided to put off retirement, Thomas said: “I couldn’t tell you exactly at what point. It was a little bit of everything. I just felt like it wasn’t time. I saw Eric Berry get that huge deal. There’s never enough of that. So just a lot of things that made me come back.”

Berry, a fellow safety who’s the same age as Thomas, re-signed with the Chiefs on a six-year, $78MM contract in February. Thomas still has two years remaining on the four-year, $40MM pact he inked in 2014, but the five-time Pro Bowler will cash in again if he bounces back from his injury to continue performing at a star-caliber level. While Thomas still hasn’t fully recovered, “he’s doing way beyond what we thought he could be,” noted Carroll. Thomas expects to be on the field when Seattle opens its season in Green Bay on Sept. 10.

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