San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman is 30 years old and playing in his eighth NFL season. While that may not seem old to most, in football years, especially for a cornerback, it is getting up there.
Sherman has played at a high level for the majority of his career. He sustained a significant injury over a year ago when he suffered a ruptured Achilles as a member of the Seattle Seahawks. Sherman appeared to be returning to form when a calf injury during Week 3 set him back and forced him to miss two of the next four games.
Sherman has felt healthier over the past month or so. He has started each of the 49ers' past five games, and his name has been absent on recent injury reports.
"I've been fighting it all season," Sherman told reporters on Thursday. "Probably over the last three or four weeks, it's just felt like my body has finally had enough time to reset, hit the reset, and take another step."
Eventually, Sherman will have to consider a transition. Several defensive backs have played into their late 30s, but Sherman doesn't envision himself doing that.
"I think 35 is probably my cutoff," Sherman admitted. "They'd have a hard time getting me out of the bed at 35 to go play. So I think I have about four or five more (years) in me."
Sherman could also see himself at a different position before then.
"At some point, everybody makes the transition to safety if you're smart enough to play that game," he continued. "I'll probably do that in a couple of years or whenever the team needs (me to do so)."
Charles Woodson made a similar transition later in his career.
"It's definitely something that I've looked at and something I've talked to [Woodson] about," Sherman said. "A lot of times, in this game, playing corner, you see the whole field, but you really only see like half the field. At free safety, you get to see the whole field. You get to make an impact. You always see where the ball goes.
"At corner, I've had games where I haven't gotten a look or thrown at. At safety, you can see exactly where the ball goes. You can make an impact. You can find a way to get in on every tackle, just about, because you're in the center of everything — kind of like MIKE.
"It's something that I'm definitely going to consider later in my career, and hopefully I'll be just as good there."