SANTA CLARA — Richard Sherman’s sudden deal Saturday gives the 49ers their most accomplished cornerback since Deion Sanders in their last Super Bowl-winning season, way back in 1994.
Of course, Sherman’s All-Pro credentials often came at the 49ers’ expense as their arch enemy with the Seattle Seahawks the past seven seasons.
Health concerns about Sherman, who’s recovering from a ruptured Achilles, did not keep the 49ers from agreeing with him on a three-year deal, a league source confirmed.
Sherman could earn as much as $39 million including a $5 million signing bonus, according to NFL Media. ESPN first reported the deal.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk perhaps best captured the emotions of the 49ers’ fan base Saturday, tweeting: “I take back anything disrespectful I might have said to you in our games before @RSherman_25 Welcome to the squad!!”
After dining Friday night in Los Gatos with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, Sherman met further with team officials Saturday.
The Raiders were among six other teams that showed interest in Sherman, ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported. Also pursuing him were the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions, the latter of whom was supposed to host him next week, per NFL Media.
Sherman, 29, was acting as his own agent, it’s believed. He told a Seattle radio show Friday he wanted to land on a contender, and the 49ers, despite an 0-9 start last season under Shanahan, vaulted themselves into “contender” status for the upcoming years by finishing 5-0 with starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who signed a NFL-record contract last month for $137.5 million.Before officially confirming the deal, 49ers general manager tweeted a picture of him posing with Sherman, a fellow Stanford graduate, as well as Sherman’s wife Ashley and 49ers chief contract negotiator Paraag Marathe.
Hey #Faithful, Gonna be a fun weekend! pic.twitter.com/CAnU4GNikP
— John Lynch (@JohnLynch49ers) March 11, 2018
“Thank you to everyone for the kind words. This is just another chapter in the journey,” Sherman tweeted earlier Saturday before his signing. “This will be an ongoing process and I am excited to take on this challenge.
“To the fans urging me to join your team, I am humbled but I can only look at the teams that have reached out.”
Sherman told ESPN he will be able to start running on a treadmill next week, having had surgery not only on his torn right Achilles in November but also a second procedure earlier this year to clean out bone spurs in his left ankle.
Sherman made All-Pro four times in seven seasons with the Seahakws, who released him Friday with a failed-physical designation to spare $11 million on their 2018 salary cap. Because of his veteran status, he was able to immediately sign with the 49ers rather than wait until Wednesday’s start of the league year, which is when free agency otherwise commences.
No player more than Sherman reflected the white-hot intensity of the 49ers-Seahawks rivalry when they battled for NFC supremacy in 2011-14, when the 49ers were led by Sherman’s former coach at Stanford, Jim Harbaugh.Along the way, Sherman was a thorn in the 49ers side with great plays and pointed comments. Such as:
— January 19, 2014: Sherman breaks up a last-gasp pass from 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to Michael Crabtree in the end zone, securing the NFC Championship game and the Seahawks’ first-ever Super Bowl berth. After having his congratulatory handshake rebuffed by Crabtree, Sherman gives the 49ers the choke sign.
— November 27, 2014: Sherman intercepts two passes in Seattle’s 19-3 Thanksgiving eve win over the 49ers. The second is the clincher; he later says he warned the 49ers sideline, “If you throw it my way, it will end the game.” Sherman waves goodbye to 49ers fans filing out of Levi’s Stadium.
After that game, Sherman and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson sit down at a table provided them on the 49ers logo at midfield and chow down on some turkey.
So why would the 49ers take in Sherman? Here’s why:
Sherman’s 6-foot-3 frame is the prototype for a scheme the 49ers installed last season under defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, a former Seahawks assistant.
As a four-time All-Pro, Sherman’s stats command respect, and he tweeted them out Friday. He ranks first in the NFL since 2011 in interceptions (32), passes defensed (99), completion percentage (47.4) and passer rating (50.9). Last year, he allowed a 38.5 completion percentage, the league’s second-best mark.
The 49ers have an extremely young secondary, and with safety Eric Reid likely leaving in free agency, they’ll need a veteran’s presence. They also need a starter, although it’s uncertain if Sherman’s health will make him available for the season opener in early September, when he’d likely join Ahkello Witherspoon and nickel back K’Waun Williams as the 49ers’ top three cornerbacks.
As spiteful as Sherman was toward the 49ers and Harbaugh for passing on him in the 2011 draft, he can now motivate himself by playing against the Seahawks twice a year and staying on his native West Coast.
The Seahawks, amid this offseason’s deconstruction, will be a shell of their former selves when they put a nine-game win streak on the line against the 49ers, a nine-game streak that began with that 2013 season’s NFC Championship Game punctuated by Sherman’s end-zone play.
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