NFL Rumors: Richard Sherman to return to 49ers after fresh injuries at CB?

Veteran cornerback Richard Sherman
Veteran cornerback Richard Sherman

Richard Sherman is currently trying to return to the NFL for the 2021 season after stepping away from football after a domestic violence incident back in July.

Sherman left to focus on treating his mental state before feeling ready to rejoin the extremely stressful day-to-day of the NFL.

Sherman stated that his mental health is better than ever and that this also led to his best physical shape in years. Sherman said the following to Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire.

"I'm more of the guy I was before my Achilles than I was in 2019 and 2018. That's (because) I was able to lose the weight that I wasn't able to lose after my Achilles. I had 15 pounds of 'Dad weight,' I guess it was, and I couldn't lose it for my life. I tried to diet. I tried to starve myself. I tried to sit in the sauna all day. I tried keto. I tried every which way to lose the weight, and I could never get below 207, and before I tore my Achilles, I could never get above 196 ever in my career... Once I got to San Francisco and got past my Achilles, I thought, 'Hey, I'm at 208, but once I get to running, I'll burn that off and be back to my normal weight,' and I never got there."

Richard Sherman to return to 49ers after injuries at cornerback position?

In the Sunday Night Football loss to the Green Bay Packers, the San Francisco 49ers lost corne Josh Norman and K'Waun Williams.

Norman did not watch the game after he left the game. The cornerback went to the hospital after spitting up blood. According to Ian Rapoport, Norman is dealing with two bruised lungs and tissue damage that caused internal bleeding.

Williams did not finish the game due to a calf injury. At this point, it is unclear how severe the injury is.

Without Norman and Williams, the 49ers only have Dre Kirkpatrick and Ambry Thomas as healthy cornerbacks.

With so few ready-to-play players, the 49ers should at least entertain the idea of getting Sherman back. The last time the veteran corner played was for the San Francisco franchise; this means he knows the people and the scheme.

Granted, Robert Saleh left for the New York Jets head coach position, but new defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans worked under Saleh. Sherman probably would not have to learn a whole new system.

Many have asked if Sherman can still play at a high level. He certainly believes so, and he has a reason for that:

"I had to adapt to being 208-209, and it made me strain a lot more, and it made me fight a lot more. ..It made me a lot less explosive and hard to recover and harder to stop. People may say, 'Oh, that's not that much weight,' but it's harder to stop at 210 when you're used to being 195 and stopping at 195 and jumping at 195. It's like having a 15-pound weight vest on... That's what's been cool about this offseason, somehow the weight's been gone... I've been conscious and cognizant with my diet and got the weight off, and it just feels like a weight has been lifted, and I'm more springy and more dynamic and able to run longer and move faster without feeling the fatigue and the sluggishness I felt with that kind of weight."

If Sherman is right and with his new-old weight, he gets close to the player he once was, the 49ers should re-sign him as soon as possible regardless of injuries.

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