Trent Williams says on-field fight with Richard Sherman is buried, and they're good friends now
Just because two football players fight on the field doesn’t mean they hate each other. Things happen.
The enduring image of Trent Williams and Richard Sherman is the two meeting at the middle of the field following a Seattle Seahawks playoff win at the end of the 2011 season. They exchanged words, Williams hit Sherman and the two were separated. Williams isn’t the first opponent to be annoyed by Sherman.
That was a footnote in the past until last week, when the Washington Redskins traded Williams to the San Francisco 49ers. Sherman joined the 49ers a couple years ago, making the two former combatants new teammates. Sherman joked about a rematch with Williams on Twitter.
So how did they feel about being reunited? Actually, they’ve been good friends for years.
Trent Williams and Richard Sherman are buddies now
Even though Williams and Sherman have played on different sides of the country their entire careers, they struck up a friendship.
And it sounded like the roots of it started when Williams smacked Sherman in the face after that game.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but me and Sherm, we talked that night after that [game],” Williams said, according to The Athletic. “We kind of buried the hatchet then. We’ve built a good relationship over the past seven years. He’s one of the guys I talk to a lot over the offseason. We’ve been good friends for a minute.”
For anyone expecting a long-running Isiah Thomas-Michael Jordan type feud, you’re now quite disappointed.
Williams ready to play
Williams, a seven-time Pro Bowler, addressed some other issues when he talked to reporters on Thursday in a video conference.
He said not playing last year, first due to a holdout and then going on injured reserve, helped him. He said he’s 31 but feels “like I’m 25 again.” He’s clearly in shape, as he showed when he squatted 585 pounds without much of a sweat.
Courtesy of @JDonaldsonNBCS, take a look at recent workout videos of new 49er LT @TrentW71.
Quote from Adrian Peterson: “how he grabbed 585 (lbs) and just walked back into squat position was remarkable.”
(1 of 2) pic.twitter.com/zuxcCMVVHd— Mark Willard (@Mark_T_Willard) April 28, 2020
Given how much better he feels, the shape he’s in and his familiarity with the offense — he played for then-Redskins offensive coordinator and current 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan in Washington — he sounds ready to go.
“I literally could line up in their huddle and run a play today,” Williams said, via The Athletic. “That’s how familiar I am with this offense.”
From all indications the 49ers got a quality left tackle for cheap. And Sherman gets to be teammates with a good friend that he once challenged in the middle of the field.
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