Richard Sherman leaves open possibility of returning to Seahawks

Richard Sherman was informed by the Seattle Seahawks on Friday that he is being released, but that apparently does not necessarily mean his days of playing for the franchise are over.

Sherman told ESPN’s Josina Anderson that the Seahawks said they are releasing him for financial flexibility but would not be opposed to him returning in 2018.

Richard Sherman tells me that the Seahawks told him, "they are gonna let me explore free agency with the hope that I can return. They just wanted the financial flexibility." https://t.co/TyswO5K9ov

— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 9, 2018

Sherman was scheduled to count more than $13 million against the salary cap in 2018, so you can understand why the Seahawks were hesitant about paying him that amount with him coming off a major Achilles injury. Still, it would be somewhat of a surprise if he ends up back in Seattle.

The Seahawks are looking to get cheaper and younger on defense, but there should be plenty of teams willing to give Sherman a respectable contract if he’s healthy. The All-Pro corner also appeared to indicate that he does not feel appreciated by the Seahawks with the cryptic tweet he sent after he was released, so there could be a strained relationship between the two sides.

Sherman will turn 30 this month. There were rumblings that he wanted the Seahawks to trade him last offseason.