Richard Sherman is 31-years-old and stands 6 feet, 3 inches tall. The Super Bowl is filled with the best and the most talented, but guys like Richard Sherman aren’t always the biggest or the youngest. The three-time All-Pro sometimes appears to be undersized on the field, but he plays like he’s the biggest player there, and it isn’t because he’s a spring chicken.
When the 49ers step out onto the field in Miami, they will need to have their defense playing at the top of its game. Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes is already being looked at as one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, and if the Niners want a ring, they’ll have to find ways to stop him.
Richard Sherman has been in the NFL since being drafted by the Seattle Seahawks back in 2011. A founding member of the “Legion of Boom,” some feel as if his best years may already be behind him. At the age of 31, that could very well be true, as cornerbacks typically begin their career descent as year 10 approaches.
Standing 6-foot-3, Sherman has to play bigger than he is to stop the usually taller wide receivers around the NFL. He’s not going to let his age or somewhat smaller stature stop him, though, as he has plenty left to prove.
Richard Sherman Is One Of Only 19 Athletes In Their 30s Playing In This Year’s Super Bowl
After spending seven seasons in Seattle, it was time for Richard Sherman to move on and play elsewhere. He could have gone and signed with the Detroit Lions, who offered him $20 million in guaranteed money, as reported by The Athletic , but he turned it down to stay in the NFC West.
As enticing as the Lions’ offer was, it wasn’t what Sherman felt was best for him. He thought that 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan had better plans for him at his age, and that’s why he chose to take the guaranteed $3 million from San Francisco instead.
Sherman felt as if the 49ers had a very relaxed atmosphere, which is totally different from the Detroit Lions who condition every single day after practice. Being in his 30s now, Sherman said his “body isn’t built to run all day and night” for a game each week.
When compared to the rest of the 49ers roster, Sherman is the second-oldest player on the entire defense, with only Earl Mitchell (32) topping him. A mere nine players on the entire team are 30 or older, but he’s proving his worth and that age is nothing but a number.
On the other side of the field, the Chiefs have a roster that is slightly older, with 10 players who are 30 or over, and most of them are on offense. Terrell Suggs is proving that defensive players can continue going at a high level as they age, though, as he’s 37-years-old this season.
He’s Taller Than The Top 2 Receivers On The Chiefs Roster
Richard Sherman actually stands two inches taller than the Top 2 receivers on the Kansas City Chiefs roster. Sammy Watkins is 6-foot-1 while Tyreek Hill is just 5-foot-10, but they both play as if they’re 30 feet tall. That is why it will take a master defensive back to stop them in the Super Bowl , and Sherman has a past which makes him just that.
Despite not having played a full season in four years, Sherman is in great shape right now and ready to take on all challenges. CBS Sports looked at Sherman’s past, which includes a massive 14 career playoff games in which his team is 10-4 in those contests.
In 10 of those games, he has recorded at least one pass deflection and he has an interception in both of the 49ers’ playoff games this year. Richard Sherman is almost 32-years-old, but he’s playing with an experienced past and at one of the highest levels that an NFL cornerback could possibly hope for.