New Bucs cornerback Richard Sherman is one of the best in the league at his position … in his prime.
Sherman signed a one-year deal worth $1.35 million plus incentives with Tampa Bay to help the Bucs’ depleted secondary. The five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All Pro was selected as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame 2010s All-Decade Team, alongside new Tampa Bay teammates Tom Brady, Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski and Ndamukong Suh.
But the question is – is Sherman still in his prime at age 33?
Sherman suffered an Achilles injury in 2017 that ended his career in Seattle. Last year, he missed most of the season in San Francisco due to a calf injury after a tremendous season in 2019.
In fact, the veteran cornerback posted an 86.5 overall Pro Football Focus grade and an 88.0 coverage grade during his three years with the 49ers. Sherman was PFF’s highest-graded cornerback in 2019 when he had three interceptions, including a pick-six off Jameis Winston in Tampa Bay in Week 1.
His calf injury limited Sherman to just five games where he recorded one interception and 18 tackles.
CB Richard Sherman and Chiefs TE Travis Kelce – Photo by: USA Today
So is Sherman still fast enough to play quality football as he enters his 11th year in the NFL?
“Enough to get the job done,” Sherman said on his podcast on PFF. “When you play corner, whether you run 4.7 or you run 4.1, if you don’t play the guy right, if you don’t have the right technique, if you guess – you can beat by 10 yards on a go route at any point in time. The same can be said if you run a 4.5. Xavien Howard had 10 picks last year to lead the league and I’m pretty sure he’s not a 4.3 guy. People overemphasize that. It’s overrated in this league.
“Speed is important, but everybody is fast enough to play if you are out there and you’re a veteran and you’ve made it through 4-5 years in this league. You’re fast enough to get the job done. The rest comes down to anticipation and understanding body positioning, and I think I do that as well as anyone.”
Sherman was listed at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds on the Bucs’ press release announcing his signing. He’s been listed at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds on other rosters on the Internet, and Sherman indicates he’s thinner now. So he might be closer to 195.
“Obviously I lost a lot of weight – a lot of bad weight,” Sherman said. “You don’t realize that you get that weight. They say, ’Oh when you turn 30 it’s much harder to get that weight off.’ I can attest – it’s very difficult. But thankfully I was able to get it off, and I feel a lot better, a lot springier, a lot faster, a lot better conditioned and to take the wear and tear of a season. So we’ll see how it goes.”
Sherman has a lot of respect for Todd Bowles’ defense and the speed that the unit plays with.
“They have a great front seven and they play really fast, and I’m looking forward to seeing how I fit in that,” Sherman said.
The Bucs are looking forward to seeing how fast Sherman can play, too.
Share On Socials
About the Author: Scott Reynolds
What options did we have at this point? He is better than most of the corners on our roster at age 33 so I’m fine with the signing. Welcome to Tampa lets go
True. And if the money is correct, the price is right.
He doesn’t have to have elite speed in our scheme, he only has to have enough speed to stay on top of routes. Keep the mileage low so the injuries don’t catch up and he has time to digest the playbook. As a field/boundary corner, he reads the QB in zone D, and he’s better than the options we have at this point. I wouldn’t expect Bowles to play him in man press unless we’re in the red zone. Hopefully the Bucs can keep a muzzle on his big mouth and he stays out of trouble. His ego is the… Read more »
I think Brady can help with the ego thing. He seems to have a done a good job befriending AB and helping him keep the crazies to a minimum. I see no reason why Brady can’t have a similar effect on Sherman.
There’s always been mutual respect btw Brady/brown even before they were teammates. Remember when Sherman chased Brady off the field after beating him and screamed ‘U mad bro’ in front of the camera crew? Terrible sportsmanship,and I doubt Brady will forget that. Sherman doesn’t listen to anyone besides himself, he’s an egomaniac. Did you watch the arrest video?
I don’t need my football players to be Good Samaritan of the year all the time. U need the bravado and showmanship a player like Sherman can bring. I want some dog in my players. Warren Sapp was going to tell u all about what he was going to do to and then do it! A young Sherman did the same. I think we get a seasoned Sherman who knows his place on the team and in the field. He knows he’s closer to the end of his career than the beginning. Again, the Brady effect is real and will… Read more »
He can’t be any worse than trotting Dee Delaney out there.. Hopefully the lighter weight will help him stay on the field and with his man.
He doesn’t belong on an NFL field, don’t care what Arians tries to feed the media lol
Delaney that is.
Now that he is on the team, lets support him, hope he can stay healthy. He is for sure a better tackler than the CBs that we have
Like most of the fans here I like the Sherman Signing. I believe the Bucs are a better football team today than they were on Sunday. Time will tell what impact he will have on this team but he’s an immediate upgrade over what we saw on Sunday.
While speed is important it’s not the only thing. As has been said, if u run a 4.3 forty but ur in the wrong position what good will ur speed do u. Experience at a high level can make up for the lost speed an older player might lose. At least Sherman will help guide the guys into the proper position on any given play. I like the signing. Now, let’s get him up to speed and on the field!
I believe there were many upon many who said the same thing about Brady when we signed him. U just can’t judge how effective a guy might be on age alone. Some guys have high mileage but they have taken care of themselves a la Brady. If nothing else, maybe opposing QBs will want to throw away from Sherman and choose to exploit a lesser player.
So, is he fast enough????…..
Or is he fast enough to be the right place at the right time to make play?
Lets hope he is and can stay healthy for the whole run to SB
I was expecting this article to show data either confirming or denying whether Sherman was “fast enough or past his prime”. This was just Sherman’s opinion on whether he was fast enough, which one would think is a fairly biased opinion.
Of course he isn’t fast enough for top tier burners but he’s smart enough to play the lesser receivers. And he’ll have plenty of time to practice with the cupcake schedule the Bucs have up until the Bills game. Combined record of the teams in the interim 8-18.
Look, if people are going to bring up his age and outspoken nature like his episodes with Michael Crabtree then you need to also mention his competitive fire and his accomplishments playing at an elite level as well as his intelligence, toughness, and leadership ability. This is a very young secondary and they struggle with consistency and Sherman knows the commitment it takes to perform at an elite level and he will hold the secondary accountable and ensure there is good communication on the field.
I agree James! Sherman can and will help that defensive backfield.
Davis is our number 1 lockdown corner and I’m sure no one would ever confuse him with a “speedster” CB. We are getting much of the same with Sherman. As we saw last year with Hill, our defense is able to bottle up fast receivers.
Jamel Dean is fast. Reportedly runs a 4.3. Ball hit him in the chest, but he dropped it.