"It's unfortunate. It's really sad," Sherman said on Monday during Super Bowl LIV Opening Night regarding the death of Bryant. "He was a friend of mine. He was a mentor. He meant a lot to this world, and he made a positive impact.
"There's nothing I can really say to quantify his impact on myself, and on others. I just know how he would have wanted me to take this, and to react, especially in this moment, in this game.
"I was really sad yesterday, and I was sad this morning. I was kind of down. I was in the dumps, and then I just thought about what he would tell me. He would tell me to stop being a baby, and man up, and play, and do it in his honor, and win this game for him, and that's what we're going to try to do.
"I'm going to go out there and try to play some dominating ball, just like he wanted. The Mamba mentality still lives on."