Richard Sherman Joins Seattle Seahawks’ Divisional Rival
When the Seattle Seahawks released All-Pro Richard Sherman, the cornerback said that the two sides spoke about the release and did it to help both him and his team. Sherman also left the door open to return to the Seahawks, as the team just wanted to free up some money when it comes to NFL free agency, which starts this next week.
However, since the Seahawks released Sherman, he became immediately available to sign with any team in the NFL before the official free agent period started. It turns out that Sherman was just being nice in his comments and had no intentions of taking a pay cut to stay in Seattle. Instead, ESPN reported that Sherman wasted no time and immediately signed with one of the Seattle Seahawks’ divisional rivals, one day after his release.
Richard Sherman’s New NFL Home
When discussing his Seattle Seahawks release, Richard Sherman said that he wanted to play for a championship contender. As the Inquisitr reported earlier, there were seven teams that reached out to the cornerback about acquiring his services.
Those teams were the San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Green Bay Packers. Out of those teams, only the Packers can really make a claim as a legitimate contender, although the Raiders and Lions have gotten close in recent years.
However, Richard Sherman met with the San Francisco 49ers and proved to the team that he was recovered from his torn Achilles. While the 49ers have not been contenders since they chased Jim Harbaugh out of town, they seem on the upswing with a new franchise quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, and an exciting head coach in Kyle Shanahan; it seems Sherman sees the 49ers as contenders now.
The new Richard Sherman deal is a three-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers worth up to $39.15 million.
The NFC West In 2018
The NFC West is going through a huge change. The Seattle Seahawks dominated the division for years, winning the division eight of the last 14 seasons. However, they came in second place in 2017 behind the resurgent Los Angeles Rams, and now Richard Sherman seems to believe that the San Francisco 49ers have caught up as well.
The Seattle Seahawks will have a completely overhauled defense in 2018. Other than Richard Sherman leaving for the San Francisco 49ers, the Seahawks also traded Michael Bennett to the Philadelphia Eagles, completely stripping the Seahawks of their defense’s heart and soul.
There is also a good chance that the Seahawks will also let go of Cliff Avril to save cap money. It will be up to Russell Wilson and the Seattle offense to outscore teams in the future.
Meanwhile, Richard Sherman will give the San Francisco 49ers’ defense a huge upgrade at the position. For a team that won its final five games — all with new $137.5 million starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo leading the offense — things look bright in San Francisco.
If the Los Angeles Rams repeat their 2017 success, expect an immediately challenging and big-time NFC West, one the Seattle Seahawks will have to fight tooth-and-nail for after giving up two of the franchise’s best defensive stars.
