A Strong Season from Ahkello Witherspoon could Lead to Richard Sherman’s Exit

Sherman is set to be a free agent next season and, as a top corner in the game, he could get a lot of money.

It was a rollercoaster ride of a season for Ahekllo Witherspoon, in 2019. He came out on fire for the first two and a half weeks, which included picking-off Jameis Winston for his first career pick-six.

Then he was sidelined until Week 11 after suffering a foot injury Week 3 against the Steelers. Simply put, Witherspoon reverted back to his 2018 self, as he could not catch the stride he began the year on.

In 2018, Witherspoon received a horrific Pro Football Focus (PFF) rating of 44.5, while posting an even worse 39.8 coverage grade. In 2019, Witherspoon showed improvement regarding PFF’s scale, where he had an overall rating of 61 and a coverage grade of 63.5.

To put that in perspective, the team’s top two cornerbacks, Richard Sherman and K’Waun Williams, were the highest graded CB duo in the NFL. Sherman was the highest graded corner in the league with a 90.3 overall grade, while Williams’ grade of 80.3 was seventh. Emmanuel Mosley also finished the year with a solid grade of 70.4.

Despite seemingly being the lesser player in comparison to his peers, Witherspoon still has every opportunity to win the outside corner spot, opposite of Sherman, this year. At first thought, it’s quite puzzling.

Down the stretch of the 2019 season, Moseley played significantly better than Witherspoon. In fact, Moseley had to come in on two different occasions to save the day. The first occasion was during the biggest game of the year, Week 17 against the Seahawks. The second was during the Divisional Round playoff game against the Vikings. Both times, he was called in to replace the struggling Witherspoon.

Considering Moseley closed out the season as one of the team’s outside starting corners, it would make sense for him to be crowned the starter at the position for this season.

Yet, we’re almost two weeks through camp, and the position is up for grabs.

This is where my Ahkello Witherspoon theory comes into play:

Sherman is set to be a free agent next season and, as a top corner in the game, he could get a lot of money. Remember, the reason Sherman signed his initial incentive-based contract with the team is because he was coming off injury and had to prove he’d be the same player. For the most part, he has been.

For his own sake, Sherman is better off taking a contract that will guarantee him money up front. The 49ers in particular are not in a position to do that. Many question marks surround the 2021 cap, and if there is a substantial cap decrease Sherman will need to be replaced.

The reason I say this is because key players like Trent Williams, Kyle Juszczyk, K’Waun Williams, Jaquiski Tartt, and Kendrick Bourne are also free agents. Without a doubt, Trent Williams is the biggest priority to resign.

If the 49ers opt to bring back both Trent Williams and Sherman, it is unlikely they could free up the necessary cap space to sign other starters back. Whereas giving one big contract to Trent Williams, would potentially leave enough room to bring back a few other key starters.

I do believe the thought process of John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan is something along those lines. They know that if they could get Witherspoon to consistently play the way he played to begin the 2019 season, he'll solve a lot of the problems in the secondary for next season.

It is important to note that Witherspoon is set to be an unrestricted free agent, but there is just no way he’ll get what Sherman or K’Waun Williams (also a free agent) would get on the open market. Unless of course, he just has a breakout, Pro Bowl type year.

This is just not about getting Witherspoon back for cheap, as that means nothing unless he consistently plays at a high level. The first step towards achieving that is getting his confidence back. And I believe that is what the team is trying to do by leaving the number two corner job wide open. They want Witherspoon to win the battle.

Witherspoon has the build of a shutdown corner, in Saleh’s Seattle-scheme defense.

Witherspoon’s 2017 combine numbers:

• Height/Weight: 6’3” / 198
• 40-Yard Dash: 4.45
• Vertical Jump: 40.5”
• Broad Jump: 127”

Witherspoon has a terrific combination of size, speed and athleticism. It seems whatever it is that is holding him back has to be something mentally, because all the tools are there. If he could break through that mental barrier and be the player we saw early last year, Witherspoon could very easily be the 49ers’ No. 1 corner in 2021.

Again, Witherspoon being the top corner would save the team a ton of money, and would allow a lot more flexibility as far as spending goes.

In addition to Witherspoon developing, as long as the 49ers possess the same pass rush as last year, Sherman is most certainly expendable. It is easier to play corner when you don’t have to cover for a long time, which is why you don’t necessarily need a top-flight player at the position.

The 49ers have invested heavily in their pass rush, and should not have to continue to invest as much financially in their secondary. That is exactly what they’d be doing by giving Sherman a second contract.

Witherspoon is facing the definition of a “prove it” season. If he does just that, wonderful. If he doesn’t, look for the 49ers to finally address outside corner early on in the draft.

Big year ahead for number 23.

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