Richard Sherman is one of several San Francisco 49ers players scheduled to hit free agency after the season. The cornerback is in the final year of the three-year deal he signed upon arriving from the division-rival Seattle Seahawks.
Fans haven't gotten to see a lot of Sherman this season. He played during Week 1 and this past Sunday's Week 12 win over the Los Angeles Rams. However, Sherman missed all the games in between with a calf injury. Against the Rams, though, he made a strong case that maybe the 49ers should seriously consider bringing him back in 2021.
That's something that head coach Kyle Shanahan wouldn't mind seeing happen. Sherman will be 33 years old next season, and, typically, you don't want to invest in a player who may be approaching a decline. Sherman isn't your typical player, though, and the 49ers coach feels the cornerback might be the exception.
"Sherm's a guy that I know I, personally, and I know John (Lynch) feels the same, we want on our team at all times," Shanahan told reporters via Zoom on Thursday. "Sherm's a guy that when he does get older, and he does descend, he's such a good football player, he finds a way.
"I understand his contract issue this year. I understand there's a number of guys on our team with that this year. But whoever can help us win football games are guys we're trying to figure out how to bring back, and especially guys who do it the right way. Sherm is as good as anyone in those categories."
There is a lot of uncertainty when it comes to next year's salary cap. For the first time since 2011, we will likely see a drop in the salary cap from one year to the next. That will mean some tough decisions for the 49ers and all NFL teams.
Shanahan doesn't necessarily consider these next five games an audition for Sherman. The 49ers know what they have in their veteran defender and would love to see him remain in red and gold.
"Now, there's lots of stuff that go into it at the end of the year," Shanahan continued, "and how we're going to balance all this out, and we have to figure out what the salary cap is and stuff with what happens, but I know in Sherm's time here, he's been everything we've hoped and more. And I really hope these next whatever games we have left, I really hope that's not the end of it."