As some had predicted, veteran cornerback Richard Sherman, who had some legal difficulties this offseason that have yet to be resolved, has inked a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On Wednesday, the team made the announcement about the contract — which is reportedly a one-year deal — on social media.
Speaking on his podcast, Sherman said that Tom Brady, a player he beefed with in 2012 (“U mad bro?”) and also lost a Super Bowl to, helped recruit him to Tampa Bay.
“He’s the all-time great quarterback reaching out, and anytime he makes that call, it’s a very difficult opportunity to pass up,” Sherman said. “Obviously, Tom Brady at the helm, you always have a chance. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. We both thought it would be really cool if we had a chance to play together. Brady wanted to play with me.”
Sherman, who played his first seven seasons with the Seahawks and the last three with the 49ers, said he had offers from San Francisco, Seattle Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers, but ultimately decided to go with the Buccaneers.
“I went with the best offer I had, the best opportunity to go out there and put some great tape on, to lead another group,” Sherman said. “I feel comfortable and confident in my abilities to go out there and execute and help that team win … I have high standards for myself. I expect to go out there and play Pro Bowl, All-Pro ball. I’m going to execute to the best of my abilities and hopefully help this ballclub win some games.”
Sherman is the latest high-profile player to join a Tampa roster that, in addition to Brady, includes star players Rob Gronkowski, Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul, Antonio Brown, Leonard Fournette, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, among others.
“I think people somehow get a skewed view of Tom Brady,” Sherman previously said of Brady. “That he’s just a clean-cut guy that does everything right and never says a bad word to anyone. We know him to be otherwise.”
Now that they are teammates, Sherman will get to know Brady a little bit better and see if his impression was right.
Sherman has pleaded not guilty to five misdemeanors, including two counts of domestic violence, stemming from a July arrest at the home of his wife’s parents in Washington state. In a statement on Twitter, the Stanford grad said he was “deeply remorseful” for his actions and “behaved in a manner I’m not proud of.”
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