49ers cornerback returning to Super Bowl after five years
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After joining with younger teammates for a bit in giddy locker-room hoopla, Richard Sherman found an empty foldout chair.
It was in front of an unoccupied area of lockers at the far end of the room — away from all the laughs, whoops, selfies, hugging, faux-posing, and over-crammed interview scrums.
Sherman plopped himself down in that chair, all alone.
He looked around for a moment as his eyes welled, in obvious reflective thought. About 30 seconds later he dropped his face into his open hands and quietly cried for a few seconds.
Then he looked up, with wet eyes, and again seemed to just take it all in for a minute or so.
Yes, this was really happening.
Yes, he overcame double Achilles surgery three years ago to dominate again as an NFL cornerback.
Yes, he really is going back to the Super Bowl.
Yes, with a San Francisco 49ers team that just a year ago finished tied for the worst record in the NFL, at 4-12.
And, yes, he really did ice the Niners’ commanding 37-20 win Sunday over the overmatched Green Bay Packers by intercepting the last desperation throw from Aaron Rodgers, which kicked off celebrations not just in, beneath and around Levi’s Stadium, but up the whole west side of San Francisco Bay, from San Jose to the Golden Gate Bridge.
The Niners are back, baby.
Richard Sherman of the San Francisco 49ers intercepts a pass against the Green Bay Packers during the NFC Championship game at Levi’s Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Sherman, who never appears overwhelmed by the moment on the field, had to give himself that couple of minutes afterward to take some emergency stock.
Asked a while later why he was still so emotional, the 31-year-old gave the following long, detailed, compelling answer worth sharing: “It’s a long road. And there’s a lot of work that goes into it, a lot of things that you don’t see, a lot of unspoken things, a lot of work away from the cameras.
“You guys see the games. You don’t see the hours and hours of work. The hours and hours of study. The hours and hours of treatment, pain, overcoming pain. The nights at home you don’t even get to spend with your kids because you’re trying to get your knee back or hamstring back, or your back. And your kid’s sitting there rubbing on you trying to make you feel better.
“People don’t understand the sacrifice that goes into being great at this game. They see the games and they’re, like, they won or lost —but regardless, guys sacrifice.
“You give up your body and your time and your health and your mind. You’re usually somewhere between going psychotic and you’re locked in, you know what I mean? Because it’s such a crazy edge you’ve got to be on. That’s why it’s a little emotional. You get to appreciate it a little more.”
Sherman’s career appeared to be racing toward a fast close in 2017, when the last of his seven standout seasons in Seattle abruptly ended early, after nine games, when he suffered an Achilles injury. In the off-season he elected to undergo corrective surgery on both troubling Achilles.
The Seahawks cut him the following March, so he signed with his hometown 49ers.
In 2018 Sherman started 14 games but intercepted no passes and broke up only four. He insisted he wasn’t done. The Niners went 4-12, mostly without their injured franchise quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo.
Sherman’s personal renaissance this season coincided with the Niners’. He started all but one game, intercepted three passes and broke up 11 in being named to his first Pro Bowl since 2016, his fifth honour in a sparkling nine-year career.
Now one of the most respected commentators on the game and beyond among NFL players — if at times over-seasoned, or a little too braggadocious — Sherman is as respected as any player in the 49ers locker room.
So now, five years after we all saw that horrified look on his face when the pass Seahawks coaches called from the New England one was intercepted, rather than run it in with BeastMode running back Marshawn Lynch — which cost Seattle its second straight Super Bowl championship and ended dynasty talk — Sherman is returning to the NFL’s marquee stage.
Where he’ll talk, he’ll squawk, he’ll lecture, he’ll laugh, and in all likelihood he’ll rip the hell out of anyone ripping him.
Looking ahead to next week, on the field and off, Sherman offered the following about the lead-up to San Francisco’s on-field showdown against the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs: “It’s always awesome to fight hard, and everybody wants to be standing at the end. But it doesn’t matter unless you win the game.
“It could be the best day in your life if you win. It can be the worst day if you lose. That’s the perspective that I’ll keep putting through to these guys, (as) somebody who has been there, who has won and lost. We’ve got to put in the work. It’s not a holiday. It’s not a vacation. I’m sure it will be good for the families. It will be cool for everybody’s experience, get their phones out, get the Instagram videos and all that.
“But at the end of the day, it’s going to be a challenging game and it’s going to be a dogfight.”
Sherman fires back at Revis and his criticisms
One thing we know for sure about Richard Sherman. Take a shot at him with one barrel, and he’s firing back with two.
Darrelle Revis, the NFL’s best cornerback early last decade until blowing out a knee, and soon losing that unofficial title to Sherman, tweeted a zinger at Sherman on Sunday night.
This, after Sherman did not shadow Green Bay’s star receiver Davante Adams much in San Francisco’s big 37-20 NFC championship game victory. Revis in his heyday was renowned for being matched up, man-to-man, against every top wideout he faced, for the entire game, for years.
Revis tweeted this about Sherman:
“Fear of getting beat in man to man coverage. Every snap every play. The fact that he doesn’t travel as a cornerback is lame. Except the challenge as the best, and shut Adams down the entire game. Do it for the game of football. Stop hiding (in) a cover-3 zone.”
Sherman quickly responded:
“I would go in on this has-been but I have a Super Bowl to prepare for. Enjoy the view from the couch. Your ninth year looked a lot different than this. Lmao.”
A bit later, Sherman tweeted a followup:
“And it’s ‘Accept.’ Thought I would give you a lesson while I was here.”
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
