Being waived by the Seattle Seahawks in March left veteran cornerback Richard Sherman a little shocked. He was in Las Vegas at the time, and within minutes of learning the news, he received a call from the San Francisco 49ers. Sherman was in the Bay Area having dinner with head coach Kyle Shanahan that night and the next day, the three-time first-team All-Pro and seven-year veteran agreed to cross over to the division rival.
The decision to sign with the 49ers had a lot to do with the respect he has for Shanahan and his familiarity with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh's defense. The presence of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo also influenced the decision. In fact, according to Robert Klemko of The MMQB, Sherman was only interested in sharing a sideline with Garoppolo or Kirk Cousins in 2018. Cousins signed with the Minnesota Vikings in free agency and Sherman will have an opportunity to face him during Week 1.
As for the quarterback he did end up with, Sherman loved what he saw on film.
"I watched [Garoppolo's] tape, and it was him doing his best impression of Tom (Brady)," Sherman says. "It was quick releases, quick reads, trying to eliminate the pass rush through speed of execution more than your line being great."
When Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey dismissed Garoppolo's impressive performance in a 44-33 victory against his team, saying it had more to do with the scheme than the 49ers quarterback, Sherman responded.
"It kind of sounds like you're making excuses, that you're making poor excuses," Sherman said. "You got beat. You got beat last year. That doesn't matter. What are you going to do this year? You all didn't win the Super Bowl. We're talking about a regular-season game. Move on."
Sherman also has strong feelings about what is happening with his former team up north.
"Mistakes and poor judgment on things ruined what could have been a really special deal," Sherman told Klemko. "You don't have much left right now."
Sherman isn't spending too much time worrying about the dismantling of the Legion of Boom in Seattle. He is focused on his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon in November and getting onto the practice field with his new team. The 49ers report to training camp on July 25.
"I'm not even going to worry about it now," Sherman said. "I've got bigger fish to fry."
Sherman organized his first ever Elite Cornerback Academy at Stanford University in late June. The summit included about 10 NFL cornerbacks, including his new teammate Ahkello Witherspoon. The group performed drills on a practice field at The Farm and reviewed each other's game film in a classroom environment.
Sherman is getting healthier and hopes to be fully medically cleared sometime during training camp. He is running at full speed right now, but was walking with a slight limp after a full day's workout at Stanford, reports Klemko.
Click here to read Klemko's entire feature.