Richard Sherman is returning to the NFL, but not with the San Francisco 49ers.
Sherman explained his decision to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on his new podcast released Wednesday, saying primarily that despite there being interest from San Francisco, Tampa Bay gave him the best offer.
“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. Obviously, I have a ton of love for the faithful and 49er fans and the 49ers’ front office and that team. A lot of guys and a lot of friends I’m still rooting for and cheering for throughout the season. Obviously still have a lot of friends with the Seattle Seahawks.
“But this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, and I weighed all of the options with my wife and my family, and this is what we came up with. Ready to strap them back up and go out there and show that these old legs still have some juice.”
Sherman’s deal is reportedly for one-year, $2.25 million. It stands to reason that the 49ers weren’t willing to give an offer like that considering they’ve already brought in multiple reinforcements, at least one of which, Josh Norman, has played quite well.
“Had a lot of interest this offseason despite the legal issues that everybody has seen…There’s been great interest from the San Francisco 49ers, a team that I have a great relationship with. John and Kyle run a great ship, but obviously they made some moves at cornerback with Josh Norman and Dre Kirkpatrick, and they’ve got a rookie playing extremely well and Emmanuel Moseley’s playing well…They’re all doing a great job.”