New San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman spoke to reporters via a conference call on Monday. On Saturday – the day after being released by the Seattle Seahawks – he signed a three-year deal potentially worth up to $39.15 million with the 49ers.
"I think that with Robert Saleh and Kyle [Shanahan] at the helm, I think that there's a lot of familiarities there with me in terms of the system I play in and in terms of how they run that defense," Sherman said. "It's a little odd to put on a different jersey in general. It will take some getting used to for me. I spent a lot of time wearing a red (Stanford) jersey in the Bay, so I'll figure it out."
Sherman is familiar with San Francisco's defense and is a prototypical cornerback for the unit. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh installed a system similar to Seattle's upon being hired to head coach Kyle Shanahan's staff in 2017. He was an assistant with the Seahawks from 2011 until 2013.
"I don't think it's going to be a transition at all," Sherman said. "I think I'm going to walk right in and I'm just going to do exactly what I need to do and what's going to be asked of me, where I need to be ... I'm sure there will be some tweaks and adjustments that they put in, but I think with Malcolm [Smith] and Cassius [Marsh] being there, there will be some familiar faces."
After leading the 49ers to five-straight victories to close out the 2017 season, San Francisco rewarded quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo with an NFL-record five-year $137.5 million deal in February. In five starts and six game appearances with the 49ers last season, he completed 120-of-178 pass attempts for 1,560 yards, seven touchdowns, five interceptions, a passer rating of 96.2, and even had a rushing touchdown.
How big of an influence was having Garoppolo as the quarterback of his new team?
"That had a huge part," Sherman said. "The way he played down the stretch was inspiring, it was incredible. Sometimes quarterbacks can get hot and the next year fall of the face of the Earth and not hear from them again. I saw poise. I saw leadership. I saw respect of his teammates. I saw command of the offense. And he had only been there a few weeks."
Sherman is also a fan of Shanahan and his ability as a play caller.
"I think that Kyle is one of the most innovative and creative offensive minds in football -- he and [Rams head coach] Sean McVay," Sherman said. "I told him such. And that's from playing against him and seeing the schemes. That's when he was in Washington, when he was in Atlanta, and also in San Fran. He's always coming up with two or three concepts that we've never seen, and we really had no answer for outside of some real bastardizations of our defense. And that was on the field, spur of the moment, just having three or four All-Pro players who can adjust on the fly that way."
Sherman, who played college football at Stanford, was a fifth-round draft pick by the Seahawks in 2011. The seven-year veteran has registered 367 combined tackles, 32 interceptions, 99 passes defensed, a sack, and five forced fumbles over his career. He has been selected to four Pro Bowls, is a three-time first-team All-Pro, and during seven seasons with Seattle, the Seahawks made the playoffs five times, appeared in two Super Bowls, and won Super Bowl XLVIII.
