Bucs cornerback Richard Sherman is getting closer to returning from a calf injury he suffered prior to the game at Washington. And he might return off injured reserve playing a new position.

With Tampa Bay down a few safeties with Mike Edwards’ three-game suspension (two remaining) and Jordan Whitehead’s calf injury, Bucs head coach Bruce Arians suggested a position switch could be coming for Sherman.

“He’s going to start learning safety also,” Arians said on Monday. “That’s the beauty of having Sherm here. He’s a veteran player that can play a lot of positions. So we’ll look at this week and see if that’s a fit for us.”

The 33-year veteran has never played safety before in his 11-year NFL career, so this will be a transition for him. At 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, Sherman certainly has the size to play safety. But he’s spent his entire career playing outside in coverage.

Bucs CB Richard Sherman, S Jordan Whitehead and CB Carlton Davis III – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Sherman played his first three games in Tampa Bay at cornerback before winding up on injured reserve after a severe hamstring pull in the first quarter at Philadelphia. After missing the offseason program due to his free agent status, Sherman played in three games in 12 days. That was too much for his body to take. While he was sidelined with injury, Sherman coached the cornerbacks in Tampa Bay’s game against Chicago, filling in for coach Kevin Ross. Ross missed the game due to COVID-19.

The Bucs started Andrew Adams at safety in place of Whitehead in Sunday’s 30-17 win at Atlanta. Adams finished with seven tackles and played well, but there is little depth behind him. Ross Cockrell, a converted cornerback, played a handful of snaps at safety on Sunday, too.

Should he practice well at the new position, Sherman wouldn’t be the first standout cornerback to transition to safety in Tampa Bay. Super Bowl XXXVII hero Dwight Smith played his first three seasons at cornerback before making the permanent transition to safety in 2004.

More recently Bucs legend and Ring of Honor member Ronde Barber played his final year in the league at free safety in 2013, after spending his first 16 seasons as a Pro Bowl cornerback. At age 37, Barber had 92 tackles, four interceptions, including a pick-six, and a forced fumble in his first and only season at safety.