Seahawks Likely To Release Richard Sherman Friday

According to Bob Condotta, the Seahawks are likely to release veteran CB Richard Sherman on Friday, barring something unexpected happening.

This fits with a report from Mike Silver of NFL Media, who mentioned Wednesday that Seattle was planning to release Sherman in the next couple of days. However, Silver did add that the Seahawks haven’t completely closed the door on him returning.

“They’re doing that because they feel so highly about him and what he’s meant to the organization,” Silver said on “NFL Total Access.” “They want to give him a jump on free agency. I’m told that if the market is not great, they are open to bringing him back at a lower salary. They haven’t closed the door on Richard Sherman returning, but I do think it’s unlikely.”

The veteran reportedly said goodbye to his teammates over the past 24 hours and that he won’t be back with the team next season. However, Ian Rapoport later reported that the Seahawks are exploring “all options” right now including trading Sherman, releasing him outright or potentially keeping him at a different salary.

Jason La Canfora added that teams around the NFL expect the Seahawks to cut Sherman since the odds of them finding a trade “don’t look good” at this point.

Sherman, 29, is a former fifth-round pick of the Seahawks back in 2011. He is entering the final of his five-year, $58.789 million contract that includes $40 million guaranteed and set to make a base salary of $11 million for the 2018 season.

According to OverTheCap.com, releasing or trading Sherman will free up $11 million of available cap space while creating $2.2 million in dead money.

In 2017, Sherman appeared in nine games and recorded 35 tackles, two interceptions and seven pass defenses for the Seahawks. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 33 cornerback out of 120 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding Sherman and the Seahawks as the news is available.