Richard Sherman sounds off on Jerry Jones, national anthem policy, comeback with 49ers
Jarrett Bell
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Richard Sherman has a new team and a new challenge as he begins the San Francisco 49ers stage of his career with task of rebounding from a torn Achilles tendon, but don’t think for a minute that he is still not the NFL’s bombastic cornerback.
Just listen to Sherman rail on about the new rule aimed to take the helmet out of the game.
“It’s ridiculous,” Sherman told USA TODAY Sports during a training camp break. “They’ll see how ridiculous it is, once they make the refs call it. It’s going to be worse than holding, worse than the catch rule. On a good form tackle, guys will lead with their shoulder pads, but you bring your head.
“It’s going to be a disaster.”
Sherman was also passionate about the efforts to craft a national anthem policy. He spares no words in expressing his disgust for Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who has declared that, regardless of policy, he will require Cowboys players to stand at attention without respect to any possible protests.
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“The owner of the Dallas Cowboys, with the old plantation mentality,” Sherman said of Jones. “What did you expect?”
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No, Sherman, a member of the NFL Players Association’s executive committee, would not be a fit with the Cowboys.
Yet he’s still encouraged by discussions between the league and players' union while the policy that team owners adopted in May has been put on puase.
“They’re having the conversations; that’s awesome,” Sherman said. “But there are unintended consequences. If they did this (original policy) to appease people, they didn’t appease anyone. It’s like putting a Band-Aid over a broken leg.”
Sherman, 30, is back in classic form. He has returned to the Bay Area (he graduated from Stanford) and is providing a high-profile presence to an emerging team while putting the Legion of Boom years with the Seattle Seahawks in the rear-view mirror.
“These guys are young and energetic,” Sherman said of new teammates. “They’re hip.”
And they see Sherman, with a Super Bowl victory (and nearly another one) and three first-team all-pro honors on his resume, as a leader with ultimate street cred.
As 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told USA TODAY Sports, “He had their respect the moment he walked in the door.”
Shanahan, who previously coordinated the Atlanta Falcons offense after taking steps on the ladder in Washington and Cleveland, admitted that he wasn’t always a Sherman fan – although he was quick to explain that it was because of competitive reasons.
“What I realize now is that he’s as competitive of a person as I’ve ever been around,” Shanahan said. “The way he attacked his rehab, the way he bet on himself with his contract, he’s not scared to fail. Not afraid to put himself out there.”
Sherman joined the 49ers on a three-year, $39 million free agent contract just two days after he was released by the Seahawks. The deal was widely panned as Sherman, working as his own agent, agreed to have a $2 million bonus tied to passing a physical at the start of training camp. The clause was ultimately reworked to allow for more time. But the original setup seemed quite risky when considering that the rehab from the torn Achilles that ended Sherman’s season in November. Only it didn’t seem risky to Sherman.
“I know how hard I work,” Sherman said. “I know the way my body responds, how much time I had. I knew how much progress I had already made and I knew if I continued on that path I’d be ready for training camp. If everybody kept a 24-hour watch on me every day, there would not have been that question. If I was lackadaisical, chilled, hung out, partied the offseason away, then maybe I wouldn’t be ready.”
Sure enough, Sherman passed his physical and on Sunday worked in his first fully padded practice – without even as much as a tape job on his healed foot.
He looked rather smooth, all things considered. Although some observers raised eyebrows that Sherman was beaten on a deep route by speedy Marquise Goodwin and was flagged for grabbing Aldrick Robinson’s jersey in one-on-one drills, he looked like himself in the 11-on-11 team drills.
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was hardly concerned, telling reporters, “He doesn’t have anything to prove. He just has to get his legs back.”
True enough, but the standard for Sherman is the one that he established by himself with his remarkable rise from a fifth-round pick (and converted receiver) to the NFL’s best cornerback.
Think there’s that extra motivation to prove that he will play like the same old Sherman?
“Nah,” he said. “I’ve just got to go out there and play ball, consistent ball. Who do I have to impress, other than myself?”
Perhaps, but there’s still that Sherman name and reputation to live up to.
“Right,” he said. “But I had my name and reputation before anybody else knew me and I wasn’t trying to impress anybody then. I’ve been a dog all along. Y’all just watching now.”
And listening, too.
Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.
