San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman isn’t yet capable of taking part in practices with his new teammates in Santa Clara. However, that hasn’t stopped him from making his presence known in other ways.
According to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, Sherman was serving as essentially another member of the 49ers coaching staff in the team’s OTAs on Tuesday.
Sherman, who was well known for his active role in coaching up younger teammates with the Seattle Seahawks, has taken on the same mindset with his new teammates on the 49ers.
“When you’ve got a guy that has played in (the defense) that long, and really started in that system, and has kind of excelled in it as well as anyone, it’s nice to have,” Shanahan said.
As Shanahan mentioned, San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was an assistant defensive coach in Seattle when Sherman was drafted in 2011. They spent three years together in Seattle before Saleh moved on to join Gus Bradley’s staff in Jacksonville. With the 49ers running a very similar scheme to the one Sherman excelled in with the Seahawks, he’s more than qualified to dispense advice to his new colleagues.
“He’s very active, he’s very hands-on and he wants to see my game go to the next level,” cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon said.
Sherman is still recovering from a torn Achilles sustained last November, which is keeping him from taking part in offseason work. He had a secondary surgery to clean up bone spurs in his other ankle but that was a minor procedure.