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The Denver Broncos finished the 2020 season using duct tape and chewed bubble gum to patch together cornerbacks to play on game day. In 2021, look for them to add talent at the cornerback position and Richard Sherman may just be a guy that makes sense for them.
Player Profile
Height: 6’ 3”
Weight: 205 pounds
Age: 32 years old
Experience: 11 seasons
Why it makes sense
Richard Sherman’s skillset is a perfect fit for Vic Fangio. He’s smart, physical, a solid tackler, and is one of the NFL’s best at properly playing textbook coverage off man. Fangio could use him as a puzzle piece to lock down one side of the field or the other between him and a safety (barring trips formations to that side).
Why it doesn’t make sense
There are two problems with Sherman really.
- He’s 32 years old and is about to hit the cornerback cliff as far as losing a step (we saw this with Champ Baily in his 14th season. Sherman is starting his 12th)
- Sherman just missed most of the 2020 season with an injured calf.
His age is something I’m primarily worried about. The Broncos (barring a trade for Deshaun Watson) are not one player away from making a Super Bowl run and that’s the only real thing that interests me in aging veterans who are nearing the end of their careers.
The calf injury just adds to the level of the risk...the injury itself isn’t that big of a worry. Calf injuries typically just need time to heal and don’t usually become chronic issues. The bigger problem is the recovery time. As an older player, his body didn’t bounce back well last season. He eventually got back on the field for a handful of games, but the Broncos need corners they can rely on to make it through the whole season.
Final Thoughts
I’m a big fan of Richard Sherman as a NFL player. He’s one of the best corners we’ve seen in the past decade in the NFL and played at the highest level on the biggest stages. That being said, his age and injury risk together make him a poor fit for the Broncos. They are better off finding a younger, more long-term answer that they can rely on either in the draft or free agency.