After being drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft, the former NFL cornerback Richard Sherman provided the franchise with plenty of great moments throughout his career before finally announcing his retirement and starting “The Richard Sherman Podcast”.
Sherman, known for his exceptional skills and fierce competitiveness throughout his illustrious career, recently shed light on what once pushed him towards thinking to retire from professional football, citing the challenges posed by the younger generation of players as a significant factor. Nevertheless, he has not yet called it quits from the league and is currently a free agent.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith forced NFL CB Richard Sherman into retirement
During a recent episode of his podcast, Richard had the Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson as s guest, Richard said a Thursday night game at Lincoln Financial Field back on October 14, 2021, led him to end his career. He shared his experience of guarding Philly’s Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
OH WOW: Future Hall of Fame cornerback Richard Sherman says covering #Eagles WR DeVonta Smith helped force him into retiring:.
Sherman said he was trying to guard Smith and chasing him around said ‘please don’t throw him the ball, please.’ My coach is looking at me on the… pic.twitter.com/1lMzF3VuUd
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) July 7, 2023
“DeVonta must’ve run this comeback (route). I had him under control, I was like, bam, quick jam, easy, had him under control. He must’ve stopped and I tried to stop and my whole groin said, ‘Snap, snap, snap, snap,’ and I said, ‘Whoa, whoa,’” he said.
After spending the first seven years of his career with the Seahawks and three years more with the San Francisco 49ers, the veteran player signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent. He mentioned how he was struggling to match Smith’s mindset throughout the match,
“Then you’re trying to guard and chasing him around and you’re like please don’t throw him the ball, please. My coach is looking at me on the sideline like, ‘Hey, you wanna come out, you wanna come out?”
The match was just the third game for the cornerback as a Buccaneers member but he realized he would not be able to cope with the NFL’s young players and that it would be his potential last match in the league,
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, but they’re in a hurry-up,’ so I’m like bailing out. At that moment I was like yeah, this is probably my last year. I don’t got it for these young dudes right here.”
Is Richard Sherman worthy of the Hall of Fame?
After starting his NFL career in 2011, Sherman was Seattle’s starting Left Corner when the franchise was a formidable force in the NFL in the 2010s and led the NFL in Interceptions with eight in 2013. He also led the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl win in the same year and earned the record of being to the Pro Bowl each year from 2013 to 2016.
Richard Shermans biggest moment as a #Seahawks legend:
"WHEN YOU TRY ME WITH A SORRY RECEIVER LIKE CRABTREE, THAT'S THE RESULT YOU GONNA GET!" pic.twitter.com/kpTtsTWLx8
— Sports ON Tap Seattle (@SeattleONTap) January 25, 2021
Following the end of his journey in Seattle, the football star joined the 49ers and was voted the second First-Team All-Pro and the fifth Pro Bowl in his second season with the team. He was placed on injured reserve in 2020 and later found himself out of the squad after getting released by San Francisco in 2022 before signing with the Bucs for a $2.25 million contract.
The 35-year-old star amassed 484 tackles (12 for losses), five forced fumbles, 36 interceptions, six fumble recoveries, 2 sacks along with 115 defended passes throughout his illustrious 139 seasons NFL career.
Whether the ex-Seahawks player had a Hall of Fame-worthy career or not is a matter of debate. The Cold Wire earlier identified some reasons why he might miss the title saying the football prodigy is indeed within reach of the title but not as a first ballot candidate. Nevertheless, Richard once expressed his thought on him being a potential Hall of Famer.
During an episode of “All Things Covered” in 2022, the cornerback had a friendly meet-up with another veteran CB Patrick Peterson where they discussed the Bucs legendary quarterback Tom Brady’s chance to be a Hall of Famer. In the podcast, he said he also deserves the opportunity to receive a gold jacket and bronze bust after ending his career.
“I feel like we deserve it. I feel like it’s going to happen but I don’t want to assume because that would be a heavy disappointment.”
Whether Sherman gets the chance to be the NFL’s Hall of Famer or not, it’s hard to deny that he has left a significant mark in the league and will probably be remembered as one of the most talented cornerbacks of his era.
