Seattle Seahawks: Unrest with Richard Sherman may linger
After an offseason where the Seattle Seahawks shopped Richard Sherman on the trade market, an in-depth look suggests that the unrest may not go away.
Shockwaves were sent throughout the NFL earlier in the offseason when the Seattle Seahawks were reported to be shopping Richard Sherman. Given what the veteran cornerback has done in his career, fans immediately began assessing how he'd fit on their roster. And for most teams lacking in their secondary, trading for him seemed like something to explore at the very least.
Of course, that exploration from both front offices and fans led to an ultimate conclusion: Sherman at his age isn't worth the price the Seahawks were asking. They wanted multiple first-rounders — or even just a premium first-rounder — in exchange for the fiery veteran that could be seeing the downside of his career soon. And that's before you even mention the hefty price tag he'd put on a team's books.
Somewhat lost in the speculation about where he could land, though, is the situation in Seattle. There were multiple conflicting reports about whether it was Sherman or the Seahawks who first floated the trade. What was clear, though, is that there was some sort of unrest in the Pacific Northwest.
On Thursday, Seth Wickersham of ESPN released an in-depth look at the situation. At the heart of Sherman's malcontent in Seattle is their Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots. As fans will remember, that would be the one with the game-ending Malcolm Butler interception as head coach Pete Carroll elected to throw rather than hand off to Marshawn Lynch on the 1-yard line. According to Wickersham, Sherman remembers that too.
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Known for his intensity, from yelling at coaches to yelling at teammates to yelling about Michael Crabtree, Sherman is a vocal presence and leader for the vaunted Seahawks defense. However, Wickersham notes heavily that he takes everything to heart. Here's what one Seahawks assistant had to say about the corner and how his personality affects the team:
"He's always looking at what other people are doing," says a former assistant coach who has had many talks with him. "He's made it personal. It's your fault we're not winning. It wears guys thin."
That level of holding people accountable is something that he apparently is still doing with Carroll over the Super Bowl loss. What's more, it's also likely at least part of the reason why the Seahawks were willing to explore the trade market. And the thing about a player or person wired to hang on to things like that is that it isn't going to evaporate. Furthermore, is it that far-fetched to think that it might boil over more so after this offseason given the events and reports?
Even if not, it's clear that Sherman's welcome in Seattle is being worn out to a degree. The team is still talented, he's still a leader on the defense and said defense will remain effective. But how healthy is it for a locker room if one of the team leaders is "wearing guys thin"? The short answer: not very.
Whether it's bitterness over the Super Bowl loss to New England or other types of anger growing within Sherman, it doesn't seem like the sense of unrest is going anywhere. Maybe that's reading too much into the situation. After all, Seattle has cultivated an environment that allows big personalities to thrive. And they've weathered through Sherman's worst moments to this point.
But at some point, that comes to an end. Considering he was almost traded this offseason (or it was at least thought about) and now seeing reports such as Wickersham's, that point might be closer than some realize.