Seahawks Ex Richard Sherman: Was Retirement Decision Premature?
Sometimes a NFL player makes up his mind to retire. Other times - such as in the case of Richard Sherman - the body makes the decision.
The Seattle Seahawks' legendary cornerback hung up his cleats after the 2021 season. On a recent episode of his "Richard Sherman Podcast," he detailed the moment his mind and body were in agreement that his time had come.
After a historic career in Seattle in which he led the league in interceptions, made five Pro Bowls, the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team and won a Super Bowl, he finished his career with stints with the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Those stops were littered with injuries, as he played only 10 games over two seasons before moving to Amazon Prime's TV broadcasts of Thursday Night Football.
His "light bulb moment" came at age 33, when Sherman was attempting to shadow Philadelphia Eagles' 23-year-old rookie DeVonta Smith in a Week 5 game.
Said Sherman, "DeVonta must’ve run this comeback. I had him under control, I was like, bam, quick jam, easy, had him under control. He must’ve stopped and I tried to stop and my whole groin said, ‘Snap, snap, snap, snap,’ and I said, ‘Whoa, whoa'. At that moment I was like yeah, this is probably my last year. I don’t got it for these young dudes right here."
But was all this a bit premature and dare we say dramatic?
Smith is an elite receiver and former Heisman winner. He certainly should be capable of beating an older Sherman along with some of the rest of the NFL's top corners.
At the time of that game, it was obvious that Sherman was no longer in his prime, so a blow-by from the opposing receiver is understandable. But in his next appearance - which came nearly two months after that night in Philly - Sherman intercepted Buffalo Bills star quarterback Josh Allen in a 33-27 overtime win for Tampa.
If he's still picking off a pass from one of the league's premier quarterbacks after his Smith debacle, why hang up the cleats?
That's where context becomes important, despite that he was still creating takeaways in critical moments.
There's a solid argument that the retirement timing was also just right. Prior to that Bills game, Sherman missed six games due to injury. The wear and tear remained, and he was eventually put on injured reserve prior to the postseason, ending what was his final NFL season.
Sure, he could've been productive for the Bucs in spurts. But that was if he remained healthy.
Instead, he took on the responsibility of coaching up Tampa's defensive backs leading up to and during the postseason. The Bucs' title-defending hopes came to a halt in the Divisional Round when they lost to the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams.
But "Coach Sherm" had still found ways to be impactful without stepping on the field he had once dominated.
As recently as last season, he also took on that unofficial coaching role upon himself in Seattle. After a tumultuous split from Seattle, Sherman has since repaired his Seahawks' relationships and last season helped coach NFL interceptions leader and Pro Bowl cornerback Tariq Woolen.
Who knows? Sherman might've jumped the gun a bit with his epiphany to retire. One more decent year with the title-contending Bucs could've certainly been in the cards.
Regardless, things worked out for the All-Pro-turned-analyst, who has featured on Amazon Prime's Thursday Night Football, continued his successful podcast and has been involved in rumors to join Skip Bayless on Fox Sports' "Undisputed."
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