Richard Sherman hasn’t been shy about discussing his future as he gets set to enter unrestricted free agency. During the season he laid out the reality of the situation he and the 49ers faced. He’s looking to get paid what he’s worth on the open market, and San Francisco has too many other free agents and not enough money to pay them all.
It was jarring to hear an athlete openly say during the season he was likely leaving the team, but nothing he said was wrong, and he told Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee that there are no hard feelings between himself and the team.
Sherman, wasn’t alone in ironing out his future. He said in an interview with the Bee that there were conversations with the organization that made their future plans for the CB apparent.
“It’s been made pretty clear,” Sherman said. “It was a good conversation, nothing crazy. Just a good conversation about where they are and where I am, and their plans. We were both very positive and as good as you can be in a situation like this.”
Breakups in the NFL can be messy, especially when it’s a team telling a player – and in this case a future Hall-of-Famer – they no longer need his services. The amicable impending split says a lot about Sherman as a person (and agent), and about the 49ers’ front office and the relationship they built with the cornerback since he joined the club as a free agent in 2018.
Sherman was at one point Public Enemy No. 1 for 49ers fans after his years of dominance and an important tipped pass followed by an epic bit of trash talk on national television. Any animosity that might’ve existed even when Sherman arrived in the Bay Area has subside, at least on his side.
“It was an incredible chapter in my career and I got to meet and play with some incredible human beings,” Sherman told the Bee. “I met some phenomenal coaches, and obviously the relationships that were forged will be lifetime connection and my relationship with the Faithful has obviously evolved during that time, which has been a pretty cool arc in the story. And I’m grateful for it.”
Sherman won’t officially be able to sign with another team until free agency opens on March 17. However, if there was any doubt he was out the door in Santa Clara, his conversation with the Bee appears to confirm that he and the 49ers are ready to part ways.