The leader of the 'Legion of Boom' has seemingly played his last snap in Seattle. Richard Sherman told Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network that the Seahawks had released him Friday. The 29-year-old's release saves the team $11 million in 2017 and continues the roster overhaul, following Michael Bennett's trading to the Eagles. The move is hardly a shock, as Sherman had reportedly spent the week saying his goodbyes to teammates and staff members. Sherman has become one of the league's iconic players during his incredible seven-year stint in Seattle, leading the 'hawks to their first ever Super Bowl win and wowing with his outstanding play. The four-time All Pro leads the league with 32 interceptions since being drafted in the fifth-round out of Stanford in 2011. He also tops the list in passes defensed (99) and completion percentage allowed (47.4) during that span (min. 300 targets), per NFL Research.
Sherman has been polarising at times, but he is always entertaining, and is undoubtedly one of the best corners in football at his peak. He provided some of the most iconic moments in Seattle sports history, both on and off the field during their Super Bowl winning season in 2013.
One will never forget the famous batted down ball covering Michael Crabtree in the fourth quarter of the 2014 NFC championship game, followed by his tirade about the then 49ers receiver in a post-game interview with Erin Andrews.
The two moments that so closely followed each other, are in a way, a microcosm for Sherman as a player and a man. The play was typical of the Pro Bowl corner, using his elite length and tight coverage skills to force a turnover in the biggest of moments.
The rather brash interview also gives you an insight into the man; a highly intelligent, outspoken leader who makes his own path and isn't afraid to say what he believes nor stand up for his peers and fellow citizens.
If this is the end of the Sherman era in Seattle, it will be a solemn way to go, on the back of an injury riddled season that saw him miss seven games. And, one that drew attention to the outspoken, political nature of the 'hawks locker room, taking attention away from just how great he was on the field.
And let's not forget that he has been elite, which of course, the man himself reminded everyone after his release in this tweet:
Along with Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, Sherman has formed the spine of one of the game's all time great defenses. Their dominance in 2013 was special.
The speed, guile and swagger they played with was scary, and it overwhelmed even the greatest statistical offense of all time as they blew out Peyton Manning's Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII.
However, now as a near 30-year-old coming off an ACL injury, his stock has never been lower and his trade value was clearly not high enough for Seattle to keep him on any longer.
He will not be short of suitors, though he won't be able to command the same kind of money again. That list may even include the Seahawks, though it would be at a hugely discounted price according to Sherman himself:
“They wanted the financial flexibility going into free agency but expressed that they wanted me to return and will be in contact,” he told SI's Albert Breer.
If Seattle decides to let him walk without offering him, this screams out as a potential Patriots addition. A savvy, competitive veteran seeking rings, that's a recipe out of Bill Belichick's favourite cook book.
A flurry of corner-needy teams will likely pursue him, but it will be strange seeing Sherman in any uniform other than a Seahawks one.