49ers cornerback Richard Sherman’s return to Seattle was one of the lead storylines heading into Sunday’s game against the Seahawks and it was clear Sherman was on the minds of his former teammates during the game.
The Seahawks celebrated a Jaron Brown touchdown catch by re-enacting Sherman’s deflection of a pass intended for former 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree in the 2014 NFC Championship Game. The ball wound up in the hands of linebacker Malcolm Smith, who was also in the house as he is also now a member of the 49ers.
Wide receiver Doug Baldwin played the role of Sherman in that celebration and said after the game that he thought it was important to recognize what Sherman meant to the organization.
“That was a tribute to my boy,” Baldwin said, via the Tacoma News Tribune. “I know all you guys think that we’re robots and that we’re not humans and that we don’t have emotions, but when you spend so much time with guys and doing what we do, day in and day out, it’s hard. You spend those hard days with guys that you love. Sherm is obviously one of those guys that has done so much for this organization that we thought it would be nice to give him a tribute and we had an opportunity to do so. I know it was kind of weird, we’re scoring, he’s on the other team, we’re doing the tribute. But that was in our hearts this week.”
Sherman said he didn’t see the celebration, but he and Baldwin shared a moment after the Seahawks win when they exchanged jerseys and a hug on the field.
