Is Trading Richard Sherman a Bad Move for the Seahawks?

At 29 years old, Richard Sherman has yet to miss an NFL game in his career. Logging in 96 consecutive games going back to his rookie season, and starting in the last 90 of them, Richard Sherman has battled through injuries and all the odds to play each and every Sunday that the Seattle Seahawks do. Not only does he play in every game, but he plays more snaps then any other player on the Seahawks team, lining up for 1105 plays over the 2016 season.

That is what we call Stamina. 

Shortly after the Super Bowl comeback that Tom Brady and the Patriots magnificently pulled off in early February, trade rumors started flying around Sherman and the Seahawks. Everyone's reaction, fans and general managers alike, was the same; Is Richard Sherman really on the trade block?

Yes, folks, Richard Sherman really is.

It's really only once in a generation that an elite player goes up on the trade market, still at a prime age, and actually get's traded. A lot of people would have thought the Buccanneers trade for Darrelle Revis in 2013 would count on this, but Revis was already on a down year the season before he was traded. However, that being said, wouldn't a lot of people consider Sherman having a down year in 2016?

Well, yes and no. Sherman battled an ankle injury from sometime around week 7, and kept it hidden from the coaching staff for a few weeks and almost got the team punished by the NFL for not reporting his injury. Great going, Octimus Prime! It also appeared that his relationship with the coaching staff was somewhat strained, as he exploded on the sideline week 15 and ended up in a screaming tyrade with head coach Pete Carroll.

Despite his injury, Sherman logged another All-Pro season, earning himself a trip to Orlando in February. He covered his zones well, and intercepted 4 passes while defending 13, and added 58 tackles, a good bunch of those in run support from his corner spot. In otherwords, he played solid despite his ankle being all messed up.

Now the question remains for us all to ponder. Is trading Richard Sherman a bad move for the Seahawks?

The Seahawks salary cap isn't in great shape. They already are running a tight ship, and are projected to have less then $5M left in their salary cap space before including their draft picks this season. They're looking to move someone who can clear somewhere around $10M. Sherman is slated to make $13.6M this season.

Don't start thinking that the Seahawks initiated this trade talk with other teams. Reports indicate that Sherman asked to be traded, and the Seahawks are trying to oblige him because of the cap issues. Moving Sherman would be a huge help on that problem.

The value of Sherman is there on the trade market too. He's only 29 years old, and at 6'3" and 200 lbs, he can play safety when his speed starts to fade away due to his age. He is good to play for another 7 to 10 seasons. With his contract still having 2 years left on it and only worth $22M, Sherman is a tempting bait for any team in the league to structure their secondary around.

The Seahawks are asking for 1st and mid round picks for Sherman, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Most teams right now are reluctant to move that for one player, even one as good as Sherman. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report said that some general managers believe that Sherman is trying to get a new contract as part of moving out of Seattle.

Despite all these good things for Sherman and other teams on the market, what about the lack of starting caliber depth on the Seahawks roster? Right now, not counting Sherman, the 7 other veteran cornerbacks on the roster have combined for 107 career starts, the most experienced being Perrish Cox. Cox was cut 11 games into last season by the Titans for not being able to hold his own in coverage as the spotlight cornerback.

Apart from Cox, the Seahawks have DeShawn Shead (who started all 15 games he appeared in and struggled with consistency), Jeremy Lane, Neiko Thorpe, Demetrius McCray (who hasn't been signed onto a team since the Jaguars in 2015), Deandre Elliot and Pierre Desir. The Seahawks would be selling themselves short in the secondary.

That's why the Seahawks want 1st and mid round picks for Sherman at the very least. They need a spot in the top 20 to try and nab a top 5 cornerback prospect in this years draft to pair with Shead, and hope the secondary holds up this season. A great team to try and land a trade deal with would be the Tennessee Titans at #12. In the long term, it's a solid plan for Seattle to keep their secondary young and talented, and still have money left on the salary cap as they try and keep Russell Wilson's huge salary on the team.

So to answer the question, yes. Moving Richard Sherman might really help Seattle get to the Super Bowl again. Sometimes, it's just time to move on from the past and look forward to years of success in the future.