An appearance on podcast may have gotten the ball rolling on free agency for the Raiders.
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden was a guest on The Cris Collinsworth Podcast, which is co-hosted by impending free agent cornerback Richard Sherman. During the conversation, Gruden suggested that the Raiders could have a spot on their defense for the veteran.
“Richard Sherman, if you are a free agent, which there is a rumor you are, we are looking for an alpha presence in our secondary,” Gruden said, via 49ersWebZone.com. “Somebody that could play this Hawk 3-press technique with the read step. If you’re available and interested, maybe you and I can get together at some point off-air.”
Sherman agreed that there’s “a conversation to be had” and teams can officially contact players in Sherman’s position two days ahead of the March 17 start to the new league year. Until then, Gruden can discuss Sherman with new Raiders defensive coordinator Gus Bradley since Bradley coached Sherman with the Seahawks earlier in the corner’s career.