With Jason Verrett out for the season and Emmanuel Moseley hobbled, the 49ers' cornerback depth has been tested early on in the 2021 season.
The 49ers have signed veteran cornerbacks Josh Norman, Dre Kirkpatrick and Buster Skrine, and it was believed that a reunion with Richard Sherman would be coming down the pike. But that wasn't in the cards as Sherman signed a one-year contract to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday after receiving a call from Tom Brady.
Jimmy Garoppolo is happy his old teammate got another NFL opportunity, but the veteran quarterback wishes Sherman was walking back into the locker room in Santa Clara.
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"Not recently, no," Garoppolo said Wednesday when asked if he had been trying to lure Sherman back. "Kind of been swamped with the season and everything. But yeah, I mean, there were rumors, you hear about all that stuff with the injuries and things. But, happy for him that he gets another opp out there in Tampa. I wish it would've been here, but it was what it is."
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan explained that the timing just wasn't right for the 49ers to bring Sherman back.
"We’d love to have Richard here, but it made sense why he went to Tampa," Shanahan said.
“I think it was more of the timing when we did it,” Shanahan said of the signings of Norman and Kirkpatrick. “We weren’t sure when we were bringing them in whether they were going to be a starter or backup or whether they were even going to dress or help on special teams. We didn’t think that was the time for Sherm.”
San Francisco 49ers
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Sherman signed a one-year contract with the defending Super Bowl champions and is expected to be active this weekend when the Bucs visit the New England Patriots.
Sherman showed the 49ers love when announcing he was headed to Tampa Bay.
"Obviously I have a ton of love for The Faithful and the 49ers fans and that front office and that team," Sherman said. "A lot of friends and a lot of guys I'm still rooting for and cheering for throughout the season."
Perhaps Garoppolo and the 49ers will see Sherman again come playoff time.