Richard Sherman explains how a DeVonta Smith route pushed him into retirement
Richard Sherman was well-known for being one of the most, shall we say, confident players in the NFL during his playing career, but the man apparently became very aware of his limitations in his final season.
It was all thanks to Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Devonta Smith, whom Sherman said barbecued him enough on a route that he realized he should hang up his cleats at the end of the season.
The route in question came on Oct. 14, 2021. Sherman had just signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a decade with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. Smith was playing his sixth career game after being chosen 10th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
We'll let Sherman take it from there, on "The Richard Sherman Podcast":
the game DeVonta Smith forced Richard Sherman into retirement
wild to hear Sherm narrate it in detail
you can see him grabbing at it after the route pic.twitter.com/kM3Lc57xx7— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 8, 2023
Sherman's recollection:
"I'll never forget ... DeVonta must have run this comeback, and I had him under control, you know what I mean? I was like, 'Bang, quick jam, easy, got him under control.' He must have stopped, and I tried to stop. My whole groin says, 'Snap, snap, snap, snap.' I said, 'Oh, whoa. Whoa.' And then you're trying to guard him, chase him around, like please don't throw him the ball.
"Our coach was looking at me on the sidelines, like, 'You want to come out? You want to come out?' I was like, 'Yeah, but they're in a hurry-up.' At that moment, I was like, 'Yeah, this is probably my last year. I don't got it for these young dudes right now.'"
The funny part is that as perturbed as Sherman might have been by Smith, Smith finished that game, a 28-22 Buccaneers win, with only two receptions and 31 receiving yards on four targets, despite posting a combined 199 yards in his previous two games.
The youth of the NFL wasn't the only thing Sherman struggled with that season, as he also missed time due to a calf injury and ended his season with an Achilles injury. In five games with the Buccaneers, he recorded 11 tackles and one interception.
Smith, meanwhile, went on to set an Eagles rookie record, with 916 receiving yards, but struggled against the Buccaneers again in a 31-15 wild-card loss. Alongside A.J. Brown, Smith posted 1,196 receiving yards and seven touchdowns last season, so we can at least understand what Sherman was seeing that night.
