Anthony

Sherman

A free agent, 32-year-old Sherman was not expected to be re-signed. A 2011 fifth-round pick of the Cardinals, Sherman spent the past eight years as Andy Reid’s lead blocker in Kansas City. Sherman hangs up his cleats with 94 career touches, just four of which came in 2020. His high points were 2013 and 2017, where he handled the ball 20 times a piece. Despite that lack of official touches, being an NFL fullback is a brutally grinding business, even on limited snaps.

The good news is, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports Sherman himself has not tested positive. This likely means he has a close contact who is positive. Sherman, of course, could still end up positive himself. The Chiefs have been dodging COVID bullets after their strength and conditioning coach and practice squad QB Jordan Ta’amu came down with the virus, but Sherman presents the greatest threat so far. Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s lead blocker has played 131 snaps so far this season. The next 2-3 days of testing will now be critical as the Chiefs get ready for Monday afternoon’s game against the Bills.

As NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero lays out, this means “if a player tests positive for COVID-19 after Tuesday during a game week, that player and all ‘high risk’ close contacts would miss at least one game and potentially more based on testing, symptoms, etc.” You could argue the NFL’s more stringent rules should have been implemented much earlier, but the league has stopped messing around since its Titans disaster. These rules closely reflect CDC guidelines for the general public. This could come into play with the Chiefs this week after Anthony Sherman was placed on the COVID-19 list Tuesday, though Sherman himself is not positive after close contact with a positive individual. If Sherman eventually goes positive, however, all his close contacts based on contact tracing would then be ineligible for Monday’s game against the Bills.

Sherman has been with Kansas City since 2013 and will continue operating as a run-blocker in short-yardage packages. Sherman also adds value with his special teams reps.

Sherman is one of the best fullbacks in the league. Only a handful of teams still use one. Sherman also is a fixture on special teams for Kansas City.

“If you are a defensive coordinator and I send a fullback in and take out a tight end, I will get your best call for that,” Arians said. “If I have two tight ends, and you don’t know if one will play fullback or one could split out wide, you’re going to give me a down-and-distance (defensive) call.” That’s bad news for Anthony Sherman, Cardinals’ lead blocker for the last two seasons.

New Cards head coach Bruce Arians has no room for plodding fullbacks in his aggressive, vertical offense. So Sherman heads to Andy Reid’s West Coast scheme as Jamaal Charles’ lead blocker. The 2011 fifth-rounder graded out 20th among 25 qualifying fullbacks in Pro Football Focus’ rankings last season.

The Chiefs needed to clear cap room for Bennie Logan. Sherman’s base salary was lowered from $1.55 million to $1.1 million while his per-game bonuses were reduced from $12,500 to $6,250. The restructure saves Kansas City roughly $550,000 in cap space.

Sherman did have six catches and scored a rushing touchdown last season, but his biggest contributions come on special teams. That should continue moving forward.

Sherman, 26 next month, was in the final year of his rookie deal. After being acquired from the Cardinals in May of 2013, has far-and-away been the game’s best lead blocker. He paved the way for Jamaal Charles’ 1,287-yard season in 2013. Sherman also caught 18 balls out of the backfield last season.