Richard Sherman refutes talk of beef between him and Russell Wilson
Richard Sherman took it upon himself to squash any remaining concerns about his future with the Seattle Seahawks.
The outspoken four-time All-Pro cornerback penned a candid piece in The Players’ Tribune stating why the rampant offseason trade rumors didn’t bother him.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Trade talks happen every off-season,” Sherman wrote. “The only difference this year is that it happened to become public for some strange reason. It’s really just the nature of the business.”
“The truth is, I do not want out of Seattle,” he added.
Privately, teammates have told me how much they admire not only his talent and ability as a player, but his competitive fire and willingness to consistently compete.
To be sure, the main impetus to the rumors stemmed from Sherman’s public feuding with both head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, as well as quarterback Russell Wilson.
“I’m sure you heard about what happened at a practice back in 2014,” Sherman wrote. “I picked Russell off, and then yelled back at him — I said something I wouldn’t want my kids to hear me say. I yelled, “You (expletive) suck. That 100% happened. Nobody denies that. But do you really believe that I think Russell sucks? Of course not. That’s nonsense.”
[Check out our three biggest training camp questions for the Seahawks.]
Tension between Sherman and the Seahawks appeared to reach a boiling point after a damning ESPN The Magazine article in May highlighted the tension between him and Wilson. In a one-on-one interview with ESPN’s Josina Anderson, Sherman quelled the concerns of Seahawk fans everywhere.
“We’re pros,” he said. “We get along. Everybody gets along.”
Don’t forget either about GM John Schneider publicly opening up about his superstar corner during a press conference right before the NFL Draft.
“People had been talking about it,” Schneider said. “There had been rumors out there. We have had conversations with teams.”
Sherman, to his credit, isn’t playing the blame game nor has he soured on the one team – or coach – he’s played for throughout his entire career.
“The media had a lot of fun with it because the trade talks were news to everybody else in the world … except me, John and Pete,” he wrote. “We had an open dialogue from the jump. We talked about the possibility of a trade. And then we just went about our respective off-seasons, like we always do.”
At 29 years old, Sherman remains one of the league’s top shutdown artists. Last season, he ranked first in pro football in completions allowed per snap (one per every 14.9) and maybe more importantly, he shadowed certain wide receivers for the first time, instead of merely playing one side of the field. That trait that greatly enhanced his value.
As Seattle gets set to open training camp Saturday at its facility in Renton, Wash., it appears that Sherman and the Seahawks have – at least for now – put their issues aside as the team hopes to win its fourth NFC West title in five years, as well as make another Super Bowl run. However, while Sherman remains under contract through 2018, it’s not impossible the Seahawks could release him next year. Doing so would save a hefty $11 million against the cap.
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