Richard Sherman is 31 years old, entering his ninth NFL season, and second with the San Francisco 49ers. This year is no different than the others in the sense that Sherman, an extremely competitive individual, is trying to prove his critics wrong.
Many expected the veteran cornerback to show his age last season, to finally succumb to the wear that seven seasons in the NFL places on a physical player. Sherman did have a down year. His 68.9 Pro Football Focus grade was the lowest of his career and, if you throw out his injury-shortened 2017 year, he took his fewest snaps since his rookie year.
Still, Sherman was the 49ers' most consistent defensive back. He toughed through 14 games and still managed to hold his own against some of the best in the league. Sherman did all of that while playing through pain.
Sherman missed all of last year's offseason program because he was recovering from the torn Achilles suffered in November of 2017. While his teammates went through strength and conditioning, Sherman was rehabbing. He tried to contribute by taking on an unofficial role of an added assistant coach, helping the young defensive backs improve their game. But deep down, he wanted to be out on the practice field locking down 49ers wide receivers — something he proved capable of during his time in Seattle.
Sherman wouldn't admit to the media that he was in pain. He was. He didn't want to admit that the sutures in his Achilles were affecting his play. They were.
Sherman fought through it all to prove to his critics, to prove to himself, that he could still make an impact.
"Sherm was battling all last year just to be able to play," Shead coach Kyle Shanahan said on Friday. "For him to come this year and be totally healthy, where day one he wasn't rehabbing, he was in the strength and conditioning program and working out, now we get to see how he probably has always looked.
"I think he played, got through the year playing well, but he wasn't as healthy as he has been. The guy that I see right now is a much better athlete than the guy I saw last year. Stronger, bigger, faster, healthier."
Sherman had the sutures removed in late-February and feels better than he has in years. He's undoubtedly healthier than he was a year ago.
"It was pain," Sherman admitted over the weekend. "It was pain from sutures that were in my heel. You work through them, and the rest of my body got to a spot where everything was moving well, and then there's still a staple in your heel. No matter how much you move, no matter how differently you try to adjust to it, [I'd be like], 'Man, I can get into a cut that I want to get in to, but if I get there, I know it's going to be a substantial amount of pain, but I can just push through it.'
"Mechanically, I could do it, but it's like driving your car with a nail in the tire. Technically, your car is still rolling, but you've still got a nail in the tire. Once we got that removed, it gave me peace of mind more than anything, that once I put this foot in the ground, I know I'm not going to have pain after. I'm not going to have pain following this cut."
Some of Sherman's wide receiver teammates can see the difference. They notice it out on the practice field. Marquise Goodwin was asked on Sunday if he can tell Sherman is physically improved.
"One million percent," Goodwin responded. "I so look forward to seeing him because people were raving about how I beat him in one-on-ones (last year) on his first play back after an Achilles tear. Of course, I'm going to win. I can't wait to see what he does this year, being healthy, having that full year to play and now coming back with the confidence like, 'All right, I'm back. I'm Sherm now. I'm back. I'm ready to do this thing.'"
Battling a healthy Sherman in training camp will better prepare the 49ers' young group of receivers for the rigors of the regular season. Sherman isn't shy about telling a player, like second-year wideout Dante Pettis, where they can improve.
"Sherm, that guy is unreal," Pettis told reporters on Sunday. "If I don't bring my best stuff every time, he knows. He called me out today. He was like, 'Dude, that wasn't what you normally do (during a practice rep).' So I was like, 'OK, that's true. I've got to bring something else. I've got to be better next time.'
"Stuff like that, he's going to keep pushing me. I'm going to keep pushing him. That's what it is."
Many feel it's tough to project the success of this 49ers team because so much depends on it staying healthy. That goes for Sherman, too. San Francisco was devastated by injuries last season, and no one in the building doubts that this team is much-improved — on paper, at least — compared to a year ago.
If Sherman is back to his old form, with a beefed-up defensive line in front of him, the 49ers could surprise a lot of people this year.
"I'm excited to see what he does," Goodwin added. "He brings a different element to this team, too. His energy, his focus, his relentlessness, he is just a dog. So having a guy like that on the team with that mindset, we need that energy."
Oh, and does Goodwin think he'll beat Sherman in one-on-ones this year?
"I plead the Fifth," he responded while smiling.
