The Buccaneers and Richard Sherman aren’t the match they were made out to be.
Hindsight is a dangerous thing. In the moment, it looked like the Buccaneers were becoming a Super Bowl favorite when they signed corner Richard Sherman to their depleted secondary. “The next Super team,” some fans called them.
Oh, to go back to that time.
The Bucs were dealing with a bevy of injuries when they signed Sherman, who was supposed to be a temporary replacement for the likes of injured Sean Murphy-Bunting when he signed, but has failed to see the field much in relief for anyone.
So far, Sherman has missed more games than he has played, and that is not a good look from a player that was brought in to solve injury problems.
This is certainly no fault of Sherman’s. Injuries are tough to deal with, even if they are more likely later in careers, but what we’ve seen should show anyone that the Bucs would’ve been better off going a different direction.
Unfortunately, signing Sherman created a false sense of security that is now completely gone. Why would the Bucs go all in for a guy like Stephon Gilmore when they just signed Sherman?
While that sense of security was likely not the sole reason why the Bucs passed on Gilmore, it surely had something to do with staying put where they were at. Tampa found a contributor that could start in the moment and then provide great depth down the road, so there was no reason to make additional moves at the time.
These decisions, that no one could’ve predicted, have led to Pierre Desir and Dee Delaney moving into what amounts to starting roles. Neither of these players are bad, but they are doing far more than initially anticipated when they signed with the team.
Richard Sherman can still contribute plenty off the field as we’ve already seen as a “coach,” but his ability to contribute on the field is heavily minimized by injuries right now.
The Bucs can still cross their fingers and hope that Sherman makes it back by the end of the season to contribute in the playoffs, but it would still be a good idea to take an honest look at the situation and make another move to keep the problem from affecting any more of the season.
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