Richard Sherman rumors: Patriots interested in trade
The Seattle Seahawks have begun entertaining trade offers for star cornerback Richard Sherman and the Boston Herald is reporting that the Patriots are among the interested teams.
The Patriots interest likely hinges on if cornerback Malcolm Butler leaves the team as a restricted free agent. The league deadline to sign restricted free agents to an offer sheet is April 21, so Butler will have to make that decision before then. If he signs the offer sheet, he’ll be under contract for the upcoming season, allowing the Patriots to trade him and possibly make room for Sherman.
With Butler out of the picture, the team could ramp up their efforts to acquire Sherman very quickly, especially in anticipation of moving draft picks before the 2017 NFL Draft, which takes place at the end of April.
Sherman signing with the Patriots would be an interesting pairing after some fiery exchanges between Sherman and Patriots players in the past. The friction began back in 2012 with Sherman’s infamous confrontation of Brady after a Seahawks comeback victory, in which Sherman shouted “You mad, bro?” at Brady, but seems to have de-escalated in the years since.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been vocal about Sherman’s talent, recently praising the cornerback before the team’s Week 10 matchup with Seattle last season:
"“Obviously, the great thing about him, among all things, is his ability to turn the ball over and the number of interceptions that he has had. He’s got great ball skills, great hands, anticipation, awareness and you’ve got to be careful throwing the ball in his area obviously because of his ability to make plays, and turn the ball over. He’s long, he’s fast, he’s very instinctive and he’s a big-play player.”"
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The 29-year-old Sherman has two years remaining on the four-year, $56 million contract he signed with the Seahawks before the 2014 season and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent for the 2019 season.