The Seattle Seahawks were shopping cornerback Richard Sherman and his $11 million salary last offseason. Of course, he was connected to the Green Bay Packers, but the Packers weren’t going to give up a draft pick and then pay that contract.
Now, it appears Sherman will be released, allowing him to sign with whoever he wants.
#Seahawks CB Richard Sherman has told teammates goodbye over the past 24 hours, sources say, and that he won’t be on the team. Those close to him say nothing is set in stone and there has been no official word. But clearly bears watching.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 7, 2018
Naturally, he will be connected to the Packers, but what are the chances something actually gets done? Not very high in our estimation.
Sure, the Packers could improve at cornerback. They just don’t have the money to make an expensive signing and that’s really the bottom line. The Packers reportedly have just over $15 million in salary cap space. They would have to start releasing, restructuring or extending guys like Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson and Clay Matthews to create more cap room.
So far, there’s been no movement on those fronts.
The Packers also have Aaron Rodgers’ imminent extension to worry about. That certainly could create more cap space, but Rodgers apparently needs to be the highest-paid player in the game and won’t sign until after Kirk Cousins does. So he’s really doing the Packers no favors in terms of signing other players now.
Simply, for those of you dreaming of Richard Sherman coming to Green Bay, it isn’t likely, unless he’s willing to take some sort of low-cost, team-friendly deal. It’s worth mentioning that Sherman is coming off a ruptured Achilles, so such a deal could be possible, but would the Packers even take the risk on a seemingly declining player?