Veteran cornerback Richard Sherman signed a three-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers in March, which will keep him under contract through the 2020 season. He is entering his eighth NFL season, and if it remains up to him, he would love to continue playing for years before transitioning to something else.
"I think I'm going to play four or five more years," Sherman told CBS 5's Dennis O'Donnell during a recent one-on-one conversation.
Because he was still recovering from an Achilles injury sustained last November, Sherman was unable to fully participate in practices with his new teammates until the start of training camp. He spent that recovery time mentoring the younger defensive backs and acting as an unofficial assistant coach. That was a hot topic among the Bay Area media who were seeing that aspect of Sherman for the first time.
Helping his teammates in that manner wasn't, however, anything new for Sherman. Even while with the Seattle Seahawks, he was willing to coach up others on the practice field.
"Maybe it just wasn't as publicized as it is getting now, but I've always kind of been a guy who's done his best to help other players get better and help them understand the game in a much bigger way," Sherman said. "I just think people are paying attention more."
That doesn't mean Sherman necessarily has his eyes set on coaching once his playing days are over.
"Once I'm done, I think I'm going to go into TV," Sherman continued. "I'm not sure I'm going into coaching unless it's management."
The conversation with O'Donnell took place before Sherman injured his hamstring during practice on Friday. Until then, Sherman felt he was progressing well from his more severe November injury.
"I'm feeling pretty good," Sherman said. "I wouldn't say I'm 100 (percent). I'd say I'm 80, 85 percent just because I'm going through practice, dealing with the muscle fatigue. In terms of the injury, it's 100 percent healed. My body is healed. It's just when you haven't played football for eight months, it's going to take time for your body to get back."
You can watch the full interview with Sherman below.