Richard Sherman isn't even two weeks removed from the Grade 2 hamstring strain he suffered during a Week 14 win over the New Orleans Saints. The veteran cornerback is expected to be on the field with his teammates on Saturday when the San Francisco 49ers host the Los Angeles Rams at Levi's Stadium.
Maybe if the situation were different, head coach Kyle Shanahan might consider giving Sherman more time to rest. The 49ers need these next two wins to secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Maybe Shanahan would reconsider allowing Sherman to play if it were any other player. But this is Richard Sherman, after all. He is about as tough as it comes, and Saturday won't be the first time he's played through an injury.
There is a chance Sherman's hamstring gets worse. That's what happened to Dee Ford when he attempted to return, and now the 49ers are without their veteran pass rusher until the playoffs.
There is also a chance Sherman will be fine. That's the gamble. It's a bet that Shanahan sounds confident making.
"You take all that stuff into account," Shanahan told reporters after Thursday's practice, "and that's the stuff you don't want to happen at all. That's why you always listen to the athlete, you always listen to the doctors, and you always give it the eye test with your own eyes just to see how it looks.
"Everyone's trying to do their best, and no one wants to make a bad decision. And I don't even consider them bad or good. You really don't find out whether it was until it already happens."
Sherman, 31, has been practicing all week and wasn't listed on the team's Thursday injury report. This week, he learned that he was selected to his fifth career Pro Bowl.
The 49ers could certainly use their Pro Bowl and All-Pro cornerback, with his nine NFL years of savvy, on the football field as the team closes out the regular season and makes a championship run.
"You try to always do what's right," Shanahan continued, "and I think we have a pretty good history with Sherm. I think he's got a pretty good history in knowing his own body. There have been times that he has talked the way he does, and it has gone there, and he's like, 'Maybe it's not quite as good as I thought it would be.' When he doesn't talk that way, I believe him.
"I also believe our doctors, and I also believe what I see when he's running out around on the field all week."
