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Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman spoke at the Seattle Sports Star of the Year banquet on Thursday night, saying that he expects to be fully healthy by next season and that he’ll still be playing for the Seahawks, as reported by Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times.
Richard Sherman talked for a while after Seattle Sports Star banquet tonight. Asked if there's a question if he will be back with Seahawksin 2018 said "not in my mind.''
— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) February 9, 2018
Sherman said he thinks he would be fully healthy to go by OTAs in May but said he doesn't expect he would actually practice until training camp.
— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) February 9, 2018
Sherman tore his Achilles tendon against the Arizona Cardinals in a Thursday night game last November. He said he is ahead of schedule in his recovery and while the Seahawks could use some extra cap room (Sherman has $13.2 million cap hit with $11 million saved if released), he is also a relative bargain if he plays at his Pro Bowl form.
This was the first notable injury of his career, other than a banged up elbow in the 2014 NFC Championship game against Green Bay.
Sherman also said that he does not expect Earl Thomas to hold out and that he’s hopeful Kam Chancellor will receive some good news on tests regarding his neck injury. As far as the firing of his friend Kris Richard as defensive coordinator, Sherman expressed an understanding that football is a “business” and that it wouldn’t be tough to adjust under any new coaches — this despite a common refrain from some outside of the team that firing Richard would cause a rift in the locker room and piss off veteran defensive players.
No, they are adults, and understand that teams make changes — often huge changes — every year. For now, Sherman does not expect to be one of those changes, and Seattle would be lucky to get a healthy version of him back by training camp.