Richard Sherman, New Buccaneers Safety?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers seemingly plan to open cornerback Richard Sherman's 21-day practice window this week as he is three weeks removed from being placed on the injured reserve with a calf injury.
And once he does return to practice, he'll be trying something relatively new. According to head coach Bruce Arians, Sherman will train at safety, as the team is currently dealing with depth issues at the position.
"That's a possibility, yeah," Arians said on Monday, asked if Sherman could be activated from the injured reserve this week.
"He's going to start learning safety also. That's the beauty of having ‘Sherm’ here – he’s a veteran player who can play a lot of positions," Arians continued. "We'll look at that this week and see if that's a fit for us."
Sherman has played safety sparingly throughout his 11-year NFL career, although he's never topped four snaps in a game at the position. But considering his vast experience and success playing in the secondary at the pro level - being a five-time All-Pro - it makes sense that the Bucs will test him out before looking elsewhere for contributors.
The Bucs were without starting safety Jordan Whitehead and key contributor Mike Edwards in Week 13 against Atlanta, as Whitehead is recovering from a calf injury and Edwards is serving a three-game suspension alongside current and former Bucs receivers Antonio Brown and John Franklin III, respectively, for misrepresenting his COVID-19 vaccination status.
As a result, the Buccaneers looked to special teamer Andrew Adams - who was a healthy scratch the three weeks prior - and nickel cornerback Ross Cockrell to fill in opposite of Antoine Winfield Jr. at safety against the Falcons.
The Buccaneers will begin Week 14 practice on Wednesday ahead of their matchup with the Buffalo Bills. It sounds as though Sherman will take part in the workout.
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