Richard Sherman Says He Knew He Had to Retire After Covering DeVonta Smith

The former cornerback can pinpoint the moment he knew it was over.

Richard Sherman had an illustrious NFL career that will most likely get him into Canton, but like any player, there came a time where he couldn’t keep up anymore. For Sherman, that moment was a Thursday night game in 2021 when he was with the Buccaneers vs. the Eagles.

Sherman had Eagles tackle Lane Johnson on The Richard Sherman Podcast last week, and the former cornerback explained why covering then-rookie wide receiver DeVonta Smith led to his retirement.

“I had just came to Tampa so that was my third game,” Sherman said. “DeVonta [Smith] must’ve run this comeback, and I had him under control, I was like, ‘bam, quick jam, easy, got him under control.’ He must’ve stopped and I tried to stop and my whole groin said, ‘Snap, snap, snap, snap,’ and I said, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa.’”

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

According to Sherman, Philadelphia was in the hurry-up offense after that, which made matters even worse.

“Our coach is looking at me on the sidelines like ‘You want to come out?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah,’ but they’re in a hurry-up, so I’m like bailing out,” he said. “At that moment, I was like yeah, this is probably my last year. I don’t got it for these young dudes right now.”

As soon as Smith entered the league, he made an immediate impact with 916 yards and five touchdowns in his rookie season, so he was a tough player to cover, no matter who he was up against.

Sherman only played in five games for the Buccaneers during his final season, and after that game vs. Philadelphia in October he didn’t get in another game until two months later. It appears that one play really was the official end of his career.