Richard Sherman had hoped the Seattle Seahawks would find a way to trade him earlier this offseason, and the reason for that could have a lot to do with the relationship he has with his head coach and quarterback.
In a lengthy feature that is worth reading in its entirety, ESPN’s Seth Wickersham did some deep diving into what has gone wrong between Sherman and the Seahawks over the past few years. Simply put, it seems as though Sherman has not been able to move past Seattle’s heartbreaking loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.
As one former Seahawks assistant coach put it, Sherman has made it “personal” that the team has not won multiple championships. The All-Pro cornerback feels that Seattle’s defense has set a high standard that the offense and coaching staff have not lived up to.
“He’s always looking at what other people are doing,” the former assistant told Wickersham. “He’s made it personal. It’s your fault we’re not winning. It wears guys thin.”
Like many others, Sherman was devastated after Russell Wilson threw an interception to Malcolm Butler at the 1-yard line. He has gone on record saying he thought the play call was terrible, but he was also in disbelief that Wilson tried to force the ball to wide receiver Ricardo Lockette.
After speaking with several Seahawks sources, Wickersham was given the impression that Sherman has been just as furious with the way Wilson and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll have dealt with their unfortunate decisions as he is with the decisions themselves.
According to interviews with numerous current and former Seahawks players, coaches and staffers, few have taken it harder than Richard Sherman. He has told teammates and friends that he believes the Seahawks should have won multiple Super Bowls by now. And with just one trophy and the window closing fast, he has placed responsibility for that failing on the two faces of the franchise: Wilson and Carroll. Sherman, who like Wilson declined comment for this story, thinks Carroll hasn’t held Wilson or many young Seahawks to the defense’s championship standard. He’s been disillusioned not only by that single play more than two years earlier but also by his coach’s and quarterback’s response to it.
Sherman isn’t the only one, either. Other players reportedly hold “resentment” toward Wilson for the way he carries himself and the special treatment he receives from the Seahawks. Wickersham described the resentment as “manageable” until the Butler interception. Some players are even said to have privately rooted for Wilson to be “exposed.”
It’s no secret that things between Sherman and the Seahawks are not as good as they once were, and we knew that when he publicly bashed the coaching staff last year. Wickersham also confirmed that Sherman recently started to get excited about the idea of playing for a team like the Dallas Cowboys or Patriots, though the 29-year-old has apparently moved past all that and is back to mentoring young players and trying to help the team get better in practice.
Given all that we know, it would be very surprising if Sherman stays in Seattle after his contract, which runs through the 2018 season, expires. Another Super Bowl could certainly change all that, but his general feelings of discontent seem likely to linger.
