Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › Sherman availability makes Tru trade difficult
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April 6, 2017 at 6:20 pm #67037
znModeratorRichard Sherman availability makes Trumaine Johnson trade difficult
Alden Gonzalez
LOS ANGELES — The Seattle Seahawks have been unconventionally open about the possibility of trading star cornerback Richard Sherman, a three-time first-team All-Pro who, at 29, is still considered one of the game’s best at his position.
As if finding a taker for Trumaine Johnson weren’t difficult enough.
The Los Angeles Rams were reportedly shopping Johnson on the very first day of the legal tampering period, and even then his market seemed limited. Johnson’s exorbitant price — $16.742 million on his second franchise tag — didn’t match his level of performance. And teams with needs at cornerback were able to turn to a free-agent market that was headlined by A.J. Bouye, Stephon Gilmore, Logan Ryan and Morris Claiborne. The top of that market has dried up, but so has the number of teams in need of an experienced cornerback.
Whether Trumaine Johnson remains in a Rams uniform depends on how good a fit he is with new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire
A recent ESPN piece highlighted the greatest need for each of the 32 teams, and only four were seen as in need of help at cornerback. None of those teams — the Bills, the Eagles, the Cardinals and, strangely, the Seahawks — have enough salary-cap space to take on an expensive corner. And others who do would probably find a more appealing alternative with Sherman, who is under one more year of control than Johnson and comes at a cheaper rate.Sherman, who has yet to miss a game in his six-year career, will cost $13.6 million against the cap in 2017 and $13.2 million in 2018, with only $2.2 million in dead money for the latter year. He has 30 interceptions since joining the NFL in 2011, 10 more than anybody else at his position. And last year Pro Football Focus graded him 13th among 111 qualified cornerbacks.
Johnson was 25th.
Trading Johnson would’ve ideally netted the Rams a high-round pick in the upcoming draft, in which they have only one selection among the top 68. But they are in desperate need of depth in their secondary, even after signing Kayvon Webster, so they were always perfectly fine with keeping him, too. Besides, the Rams have already lost way too much from their secondary. Janoris Jenkins and Rodney McLeod departed via free agency last offseason. T.J. McDonald left this offseason. And next year Maurice Alexander, Lamarcus Joyner, E.J. Gaines and Cody Davis are set to join Johnson as unrestricted free agents, the quality depth behind them nearly nonexistent.
Part of the reason the Rams didn’t sign Johnson to a long-term extension this offseason was because they first wanted to see if he would be a fit under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. The two sides still have until July 15 to get something done, and the Rams haven’t ruled that out.
The offseason program, which begins Monday, could give them a better feel for whether a new deal makes sense.
“Wade values corners,” Rams general manager Les Snead said from the scouting combine. “So I think what we’re going to do with Trumaine is, because everyone is new, we need to work together, live together, see if we all fit. Does Tru fit Wade? Does Wade fit Tru? Because it’s obvious by the tag number and what corners get paid, it’s a heavy investment, and you want to be right. Especially when you go long-term.”
April 6, 2017 at 6:27 pm #67038znModeratorJohn Schneider: Richard Sherman trade talk didn’t come out of nowhere
Josh Alper
John Schneider: Richard Sherman trade talk didn’t come out of nowhere
When talk of the Seahawks trading cornerback Richard Sherman first surfaced late last month, Sherman initially laughed it off before issuing a more serious statement in light of comments from General Manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll.
Among the things Schneider said was that the team listens to everything that other teams might send their way and he expanded on the topic during an appearance with Brock and Salk on 710 ESPN Wednesday. Schneider said that what “you’ve seen lately in the news is real.”
“This isn’t a secret like this just came out of nowhere,” Schneider said. “People find things out and we’re not going to lie to each other and we’re not going to BS each other. It’s going to be all laid out, and like I said, that doesn’t happen everywhere. . . . It’s just open communication.
He knows what’s going on. We know what’s going on. I don’t know if anything would ever happen, but like I tell people all the time, 98 percent of the deals that we’re involved with, we don’t follow through with. But at least we’ve opened that door, gone down the road and seen what’s behind Door A or Door B.”
Carroll said that he doesn’t see anything happening, but that he was also “anxious” to see Sherman “handle everything and do really well and represent himself and his teammates in great fashion” after a 2016 season that saw him spend time scrapping with assistant coaches and the media.
Both those comments and the ones Schneider made on Wednesday sent a pretty clear message to Sherman that he’s not guaranteed to remain in Seattle. As of now, there’s no sign that anything the Seahawks have heard make a trade likely before the start of next season but they’ve made no secret that they’re willing to hear something that could change that state of affairs.
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—Seahawks are making a point to Richard Sherman
Mike Florio
Seahawks are making a point to Richard Sherman
Some would say the transparency that the Seahawks are applying to the Richard Sherman trade chatter is refreshing. Others would say that the transparency isn’t accidental or aimed at catering to the media but strategic in nature.
Sherman’s behavior became problematic for the Seahawks during the 2016 season. From a tantrum during a regular-season win over the Falcons that became an in-game distraction to a tantrum during a regular-season win over the Rams that became an in-game distraction to an “animated” post-game discussion with coach Pete Carroll to a press-conference threat to ruin a reporter’s career to whatever else we don’t know about (and linebacker Bobby Wagner said during a late-season appearance on PFT Live that, generally speaking, plenty of things happen within the confines of a football team that we’ll never know about), the Seahawks have decided that the time has come to at least see if anyone is willing to trade for Sherman.
The message to Sherman has multiple layers. First, the willingness to consider offers shows he’s not untouchable, despite what he may have believed. Second, the lack of a land rush for Sherman shows that he’s not as valued elsewhere as he may have believed.
How Sherman reacts to the latest blast of candor from G.M. John Schneider remains to be seen. Sherman went from laughing off the talk to a more pragmatic view after Schneider first legitimized the chatter. Now that Schneider seems to be publicly twisting the screws a bit, Sherman may erupt.
Or maybe he won’t. Maybe Sherman will realize that, in order to continue earning eight figures per year, there are certain boundaries he must honor — and that few players are so good on the field that they can say and do whatever they want away from it.
April 7, 2017 at 5:15 pm #67076
wvParticipantWell if they can swing a Sherman for Tru
trade I will be fine with that.Sherman can throw all the tantrums he wants
as long as he shuts down WRs.w
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