Richard Sherman is heading to Tampa. The three-time All-Pro corner announced on his podcast on Wednesday that he has signed with the Buccaneers. This comes after Sherman visited with Tampa Bay — his first official free agent visit of the year — and was recruited by quarterback Tom Brady to join forces and help the team repeat as Super Bowl champions. Following Sherman’s announcement, the team confirmed the signing through their social media channels. ESPN’s Adam Schefter also adds that it is a one-year deal for Sherman.
“I finally had enough conversations and came to a decision that I’m going to go play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” Sherman said. “I went with the best offer I had. The best opportunity to go out there and put some great tape (together), to lead a great group. I feel comfortable and confident in my abilities to go out there and execute and help that team win. … This was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I weighed all the options with my wife and my family and this is what we came up with.”
Sherman noted on his podcast that the San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, and Seattle Seahawks all showed some interest in bringing him aboard but he ultimately came to the conclusion that the Buccaneers were the best.
“Obviously, they are coming off the Super Bowl,” Sherman said when asked why he decided to go with Tampa Bay. “They returned all their starters. They have a great veteran team. Tons of talent. Obviously, with Tom Brady at the helm, you always have a chance. Elite receiving corpse. And a great grizzly front seven and a very talented back end, so it’s an opportunity — like I said — I couldn’t pass up. It’s a proven team and I just need to go in there and show that these legs still got some juice.”
Sherman also confirmed that Brady was a key piece to getting him to sign with Tampa.
“He reached out initially just to see if I was in shape,” Sherman said. “He and I have had a relationship over the years and he’s been very — he’s a great guy. … We both thought it would be really cool if we got the opportunity to play together at some point in time. Obviously, with our situations, it didn’t seem likely at any point in time, but he reached out and said they may express interest and, obviously, he wanted to play with me. Then their front office reached out and the conversation started a few weeks ago when they lost [Sean Murphy-Bunting] and then it kind of steamrolled.
The addition of Sherman comes at an ideal time for a Buccaneers secondary that is allowing the most passing yards per game through the first three weeks of the season. That’s partially due to the unit being gamed up with Sean Murphy-Bunting on IR with a dislocated elbow while Carlton Davis (hamstring) and Jamel Dean (knee) also dealing with injuries. As it relates to Dean, he reportedly avoided a serious knee injury after exiting Week 3 early, but his availability in the short term is in doubt, which made the pursuit of Sherman all the more important.
The 33-year-old was last on the field with the San Francisco 49ers during the 2020 season. He was limited to just five games played last year due to a calf injury, but totaled 18 tackles and snatched an interception.
