Kyle Shanahan reveals why San Francisco 49ers gave up on Richard Sherman pursuit
Injuries are a part of football and the San Francisco 49ers have their troubles at cornerback with several injuries. Despite some ill luck on the injury front, the franchise chose not to sign Richard Sherman, who was with the team from 2018 to 2020.
Having been a free agent for seven months, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed the veteran corner on Wednesday after he was released by the 49ers in February.
Despite a glaring need to fill the cornerback position after several injuries, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan stated on Wednesday that “it just wasn’t the right timing” to sign the 33-year-old corner.
New #Bucs CB Richard Sherman had talks with the #49ers and #Seahawks, but chose the #Bucs thanks to a recruiting pitch from Tom Brady and the TB staff. The top FA available, Sherman signs with the Super Bowl champs.
The cornerback room in San Francisco is down to its bare bones with Jason Verrett out for the year with an ACL injury. K’Waun Williams is out for the foreseeable future with a strain to his calf and Josh Norman suffered a chest injury on Sunday in the loss to the Packers and spent the night in hospital.
Why didn't the 49ers sign Richard Sherman?
Speaking to the media, Shanahan said that John Lynch, the team's general manager, was in constant dialog with Sherman for the duration of the season and added that the team was hoping for the free agent corner to be available later in the season when Sherman would be able to step into the team as soon as he could.
"I think he needs a couple of weeks to get ready, at least a week," Shanahan stated. "And there's contract things that go into it also. You've got to plan out everything ... but we would love to have Richard here. But it makes sense why he went to Tampa."
One thing that might have put off the 49ers is the fact that Sherman is still going through the court process of facing five misdemeanor charges after it was alleged that Sherman crashed his car in an effort to get into his wife’s parents’ home back in July.
"We'd love to have Richard here, but it made sense why he went to Tampa."
Kyle Shanahan explained why a reunion with Richard Sherman didn't happen for the 49ers (via @MaioccoNBCS)
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When one door closes, another opens and that is what happened to Sherman. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed the free agent corner after a call from Tom Brady and the Bucs coaching staff.
Like the 49ers, the Buccaneers are dealing with injuries at cornerback and went after Sherman to shore up the secondary. After giving up 29, 25 and 34 points in the first three games while giving up 338.3 yards a game, teams are throwing all over the Bucs defense.
By adding an All-Pro and Super Bowl winner in Richard Sherman, the Bucs defense just got better. Given that he can effectively shut down one half of the field by himself, the Bucs have a shot at defending their Super Bowl crown with Sherman in their ranks.