Richard Sherman surprised many around the NFL in 2018 when he elected to join the 49ers in free agency, a team he had been archrivals with for his entire career as a member of the Seattle Seahawks.
The four-time Pro Bowl cornerback was asked to take a discount to return to Seattle after battling injury, and Sherman elected instead to bet on himself.
In a recent interview with Bleacher Report, Sherman opened up about the thought process that went into picking San Francisco as his free-agent destination. From Tyler Dunne:
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SIGN UP HERE He knew the scheme. Coordinator Robert Saleh was a quality control coach in Seattle. And Sherman believed in the personnel—could tell there was talent when he watched film from the previous few years, even though the defense operated in "awful schemes."
Sherman, in particular, was not a fan of the defense during the very forgettable (and brief) Jim Tomsula era.
"I don’t know what the f--k they were running when [Jim] Tomsula was there," Sherman said.
Since Sherman joined the 49ers secondary, San Francisco has gone from being in the bottom 10 in points allowed and total yardage allowed, to currently being fifth in points allowed and second in total yards.
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While the Stanford product can’t take all of the credit for San Francisco’s defensive turnaround, having an All-Pro caliber player as your No. 1 cornerback certainly hasn’t hurt.
Sherman missed the 49ers’ Week 15 loss against Atlanta, and hopes to return to the lineup before Saturday’s showdown with the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium.