Could Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks reunite?

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Of all the potential transactions that the Seahawks could make this offseason, bringing back cornerback Richard Sherman would have landed low on the list of possibilities. It’s now on the radar screen, even if the chances of it happening remain remote.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media has reported that Sherman is open to a return to the Seahawks, and that the Seahawks have interest in bringing him back.

It seems like a stretch on the surface. Although the two sides didn’t have an Earl-Thomas-middle-finger-style divorce, the Richard Sherman Experience had run its course in Seattle. There was acrimony and at times hostility between Sherman and quarterback Russell Wilson. After the 2017 season, the Seahawks purged from the roster any remaining veterans who resented Russ, and Sherman was always one of the main culprits.

Wilson was viewed by some of the players as a company man, a Goody Two-Shoes. Some veteran players mocked Wilson’s “Go Hawks” catch phrase behind his back, and he became a lightning rod for rancor when the last offensive snap of Super Bowl XLIX became not a run to Marshawn Lynch but a pass from Wilson that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler.

After intercepting Wilson during a June 2014 practice session, Sherman yelled at Wilson, “You f–king suck!” Then came the Super Bowl debacle, something Sherman took very hard.

While there’s a chance everyone involved is ready to let bygones be bygones, one league source tells PFT that the Seahawks are allowing the flirtation to be fueled as both a jab at Wilson’s current discontent — and as a reminder that the team weeded out those players (like Sherman) who had a problem with the way Wilson was treated by management.

Ultimately, the Seahawks are unlikely to bring Sherman back. As one source put it, they don’t and won’t have the cap space to pay Sherman what he wants.

Sherman has been linked briefly to the Saints. The Raiders have not emerged as a player for Sherman’s services, despite (or perhaps because of) coach Jon Gruden’s blatant tampering. Other than that, there has been no reported interest in his services.

The fact that former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh hasn’t made a play to bring Sherman to New York to help spearhead the implementation of Saleh’s program with the Jets and to help teach and develop young players could be regarded as example of the reality that not only actions but also inactions can be louder than any words spoken or shouted.