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The Seahawks release of Richard Sherman isn’t completely awful news

By Todd Vandenberg

SEATTLE, WA - OCTOBER 29: Cornerback Richard Sherman #25 of the Seattle Seahawks intercepts quarterback Deshaun Watson #4 of the Houston Texans with 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter of the game at CenturyLink Field on October 29, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Seahawks beat the Houston Texans 41-38. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - OCTOBER 29: Cornerback Richard Sherman #25 of the Seattle Seahawks intercepts quarterback Deshaun Watson #4 of the Houston Texans with 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter of the game at CenturyLink Field on October 29, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Seahawks beat the Houston Texans 41-38. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
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Richard Sherman was released today by the Seahawks. That is hardly the best news ever, but it isn’t 100 percent bad, either.

Richard Sherman is one of my favorite players ever. Yes, a favorite of any team and any sport, not just the Seahawks. I love his play on the field. I love his swagger off the field. Most of all, I love how much he loves Michael Crabtree. I guarantee you I enjoy Sherman’s opinion of Pro Football Focus’ 62nd ranked wide receiver more than Crabtree does.

So when I saw that the worst had come to pass and Sherman had been released, I wasn’t too happy. Alright, third worst. An Earl Thomas departure would be worse, as I wrote yesterday. And if Russell Wilson ever leaves…forget it. But the release of Richard Sherman still really hurts.

As I said, I love Sherman’s play on the field. What’s not to love about the player who led the NFL in both total interceptions and total passes defensed since his rookie season? Of course, last year was the first time he’d missed a single game. Turns out even Richard Sherman can’t play with a a torn Achilles.

The loss of Sherman hurts the Seahawks on the field. There’s just no way to minimize that. Well, maybe there is. The loss of his contract is a different matter entirely. Financially, this is a big win for Seattle.

Richard Sherman
SEATTLE, WA – OCTOBER 1: Cornerback Richard Sherman (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

Seahawks lost a great player, but not all is lost

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The Seahawks took another $11 million off their salary cap by releasing Sherman. I’m pretty sure I’ve written the figure $13.6 million at least a dozen times in the past few weeks. Entering the off-season, that was the Seahawks cap space. Allowing for about $6 million for rookie signings, Seattle didn’t have enough left to be a player for any major free agents. The trade of Michael Bennett, the release of Jeremy Lane and a few other moves bumped up their cap space by almost $7 million. When you add Sherman’s release, the Seahawks now have $30.7 million available under the cap.

That money puts them right back in the running to keep Sheldon Richardson. It gets them into the conversation for the best free agent offensive linemen. Basically, it gives John Schneider the room he needs to rebuild the team to contend in 2018.

No, I’m not happy about the release of Sherman at all. But consider this. He’s coming off surgery for an Achilles tear. That typically takes about a year for a full recovery, and his surgery was in mid-November. It’s very likely that whoever signs him will place him on the reserve PUP list, so he’d miss at least the first six games of the season.

Related Story: Richard Sherman release hurts Seahawks

So the most likely scenario is this. The Seahawks traded 10 games of Richard Sherman in 2018 for the chance to sign a young monster offensive lineman, or a young beast of a defensive lineman. That isn’t a win-win, but it isn’t a loss, either.

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