Seahawks Didn't Make Last-Minute Run to Sign Richard Sherman

Contrary to reports, per the player himself, Sherman and the Seahawks were never actually close to reuniting. Instead, he'll take his talents to south Florida to join the defending champions.

Although a report surfaced on Wednesday morning suggesting the Seahawks made one final push to lure Richard Sherman towards re-signing with the team rather than making a trip to Tampa Bay, it appears that wasn't the reality.

According to reporter Dov Kleiman, upon learning Sherman would be flying to take a visit with the Buccaneers, the Seahawks tried to stop him from getting on the plane. But per multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, while coach Pete Carroll maintained lines of communication with the franchise icon this offseason, the veteran cornerback hadn't engaged in serious discussions with the organization about a potential reunion for months

Hours after agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with Tampa Bay, as confirmed by the player himself discussing a conversation he had with his wife, Seattle never made Sherman an offer and was just "stringing him along" during the process. That made his decision an easy one after being recruited to south Florida by future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady.

"It was a perfect fit, perfect situation and I'm glad to be here," Sherman said of his decision to join the defending champions.

Earlier on Wednesday, in the first episode of his new podcast, Sherman indicated the Seahawks had "early interest" when he first became an unrestricted free agent. But those conversations never yielded any serious discussions and as recently as a week ago, Carroll said on his weekly Monday radio show that the team was not actively in talks with him about a reunion despite their current cornerback situation being less than ideal.

Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Carroll doubled down, saying, “I didn’t talk with Richard, but we have been in contact in a way for some time. We were always watching Richard and had the thought in mind that maybe there was a possibility down the road. I talked to him seriously about that prior to camp but we wish him the best. I’m glad he got the chance to come back and hope for the very best for him.”

Back in March, Seattle lost four-year starting cornerback Shaquill Griffin to Jacksonville as well as veteran Quinton Dunbar in free agency. In response, the team signed former San Francisco starter Ahkello Witherspoon as a replacement, but that signing didn't work out as planned and the organization traded him to Pittsburgh for a future fifth-round pick last month.

After trading Witherspoon, Tre Flowers and D.J. Reed were named starting corners and the Seahawks made a series of moves to address depth at the position. First, they traded a conditional seventh-round pick to the Texans in exchange for second-year cornerback John Reid before the preseason finale. One week later, the team dealt a sixth-round pick to the Jaguars for former Washington Husky star Sidney Jones and agreed to terms with former Jets starter Bless Austin.

To this point, Reid, Jones, and Austin have played one combined defensive snap in Seattle's first three games. Meanwhile, Flowers and Reid have struggled mightily over the past two weeks in back-to-back losses to Tennessee and Minnesota, combining to allow 16 receptions for 231 yards and three touchdowns in coverage per Pro Football Focus.

With none of the newcomers brought in back in August apparently ready to play and/or the coaching staff lacking confidence in them, speculation about Sherman coming back to his old stomping grounds ramped up over the past few weeks. But ultimately, the Seahawks never apparently showed genuine interest in re-signing him and without an actual offer being put on the table for him to consider, the two sides never truly were on the cusp of a reunion.

Instead, Sherman will take his talents to Tampa Bay, eager to show he still has something left in the tank at 33 years of age for a team that has dealt with numerous injuries in the secondary early in the season. With few options left on the free agent market, Seattle will move forward with its current cornerback group as constructed for now, though Carroll sounded open to potential changes in the lineup after Sunday's loss in Minnesota.