49ers cornerback Richard Sherman looked to be significantly injured on Sunday in Baltimore, with a knee problem. He vowed after the game to play on Sunday at New Orleans. On Wednesday, Sherman practiced -- albeit on a limited basis.
So what did the 49ers do to get him ready to go?
“Did some Mr. Miyagi stuff on him,” Shanahan said, in reference to The Karate Kid, a 1984 film that secured an Oscar nomination for the late Pat Morita. “We’ll see, though. Sherm always battles. You expect him to be out there and hopefully he’ll get better each day. I know he’s not there all the way yet, but he’s got a few more days to do it and hopefully he’ll be good on Sunday.”
Shanahan explained that he’s willing to defer to a player who wants to practice, unless the doctors say that the player definitely cannot.
“You’ve got to protect them from themselves, but if they say they won’t get any worse, if the guy wants to do it, Sherm’s a guy who knows his body,” Shanahan said. “He’s gone through it a lot and he’s done it for a while. We usually leave it to him.”
Sherman missed two games due to injury in 2018, and he has started all 12 games in 2019.
It remains to be seen whether he’ll be ready for Sunday. And here’s where we’d conclude things with a “sweep the leg” reference, if Gregg Williams were still employed by the Saints.