Richard Sherman could be headed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers six months after becoming a free agent. The defending Super Bowl champions would be a nice fit for the five-time Pro Bowl and three-time first-team All-Pro cornerback, who can end his career with a team that will likely be playing well into January ... at least.
Five-time Pro Bowl CB Richard Sherman is heading to Tampa for a visit with the #Bucs, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 28, 2021
The San Francisco 49ers have cornerback problems of their own. The team failed to properly address the position's depth this offseason, and early injuries have exposed the flaws. Starter Jason Verrett is out for the season due to a torn ACL. Josh Norman visited the hospital over the weekend after spitting up blood following a collision with a Green Bay Packers player. He has a lung contusion, per head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Still, there is a possibility that Norman could play this weekend when Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks visit. His availability is far from a certainty, though.
Former 49ers safety Donte Whitner, now an analyst for NBC Sports Bay Area and CBS Sports, thinks a Sherman-Niners reunion makes sense, given the circumstances. Of course, that would be dependent on Sherman not signing with the Buccaneers.
How long would it take for Sherman to get reacclimated with the 49ers' defense? The analyst doesn't believe it would take too long at all.
"I would say two weeks," Whitner said on KNBR's Papa & Lund show. "You give him a week in practice. He already understands the verbiage. He understands the terminology. He understands the plays. He understands the system probably better than the defensive coordinator, DeMeco Ryans. And that's not a knock against DeMeco Ryans. It's so long that Richard Sherman has been in this defense."
Sherman spent the past three seasons with the 49ers. Before that, he spent seven seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, who run a similar defense.
"He's been a leader in the defense," Whitner continued. "He instantly upgrades your secondary and your defense. I think he's the perfect person to bring in, and it will be a great story to end his career.
"You have a storied career, you have a meltdown in the offseason, teams don't want you, you come back, perform well, help the 49ers reach the playoffs, have individual success. A great story for Richard Sherman to end his career."
Of course, none of this matters if Sherman signs with the Buccaneers this week. It doesn't sound like the 49ers have been too eager to add the veteran cornerback.
"Right now, we feel good about where we are at, but Sherm's added a lot to this place over the years," general manager John Lynch said last week. "We'll forever be grateful for that, and who knows? We could need him down the road. So, those are kind of the conversations we've had."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Whitner below.
H/t to Marc Adams for the find.