Long wait is nearly over for Sherman
Veteran hasn’t played since tearing Achilles eight months ago
SANTA CLARA >> Richard Sherman said he will debut in a 49ers uniform Saturday, when they visit the Indianapolis Colts for each team’s third exhibition.
Will we be seeing the All-Pro version from his Seattle Seahawks days, or a veteran cornerback concerned about his Achilles and hamstring?
“Those things are feeling great,” Sherman said Wednesday. “They figured to wait an extra week. I could have played last week. That’s what I was trying to do ... Kyle, they, held us back.
“I’m not concerned about how that’s going to respond. I’m more concerned about my game shape and making sure I can still go every single play, because I haven’t played in eight months.”
Sherman tore his right Achilles in November, effectively ending his seven-year tenure with the Seahawks. After having bone spurs removed from his lower left leg in January, he joined the 49ers and was progressing well in limited action until an Aug. 3 hamstring strain.
So why play Saturday rather than wait for the Sept. 9 regularseason opener at Minnesota?
“It’s important just for defensive-continuity standpoint, everybody knowing where people are going to be on game day,” Sherman said. “You don’t want the first time you communicate with
somebody else to be with live bullets out there.”
Sherman said he felt “85 percent” healthy prior to the hamstring strain, which he said came by taking “a weird step” while covering Pierre Garcon.
Added Sherman: “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh man I was running straight and caught my hamstring.’ I took a weird step on an angle and it was a freak deal, but it gave me time to heal up. I feel even better now and look forward to going out this week.”
Sherman endorsed coach Kyle Shanahan showing players video of Sherman getting burned by Marquise Goodwin earlier in camp as a teaching tool, telling players not to fear failure in practice. Sherman said he’s never been fueled by doubters, adding: “When nobody knew about me, I knew about me . ... If you let people’s criticism really define who you are, you’ll always be a failure.”
• Sherman reiterated his disdain for the league’s “idiotic” rule penalizing players for lowering heads when initiating contact.
“To ask people to do that at full speed is just ridiculous,” Sherman said. “If it’s a 15-yard penalty, it’s going to be a 15-yard penalty every single play on darn near every player. It’s one of those rules they’re obviously only calling on defense.”
Sherman, a NFL Players Association board member, mocked how this rule is the latest stain on a great sport, adding: “Name something that’s less NFL than that. That’s what the NFL is known for: doing something that takes the attention away from the game. The game has actually been played great. But the ‘catch rule,’ this helmet thing, I mean … that’s what we do.”
• Center Weston Richburg is still adjusting to the 49ers scheme, noting: “I come from a different offense
(with the New York Giants) and I’m just learning how to do my job the best I can, and it take reps.”
Richburg is leaning on his linemates’ experiences for assistance, including potential starting right guard Mike Person, who played center in Shanahan’s system with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015. “He’s very trustworthy and knows what he’s doing,” Richburg said of Person as he vies for the right guard spot with Joshua Garnett and Jonathan Cooper.
Richburg received word from the league that his holding penalty Saturday shouldn’t have been called, and although he was satisfied by that, he said it did not excuse the unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty he drew for debating officials.
• Chris Jones, a defensive tackle who shined amid the 49ers’ gloomy 2016 season, is getting another shot with the club. Prior to the 49ers’ call Tuesday, Jones, 28, was helping coach the Brownsburg High School football team 30 minutes outside of Indianapolis, where the 49ers will fly back to after Thursday’s practice.
Jones spent last season on the 49ers’ injured reserve list because of hip surgery. He had a brief stint with the New York Jets in June, and upon his return to the 49ers locker room Wednesday, he said: “It feels like I never left.”
• Defensive tackle Cedric Thornton retired. He joined the 49ers as training camp opened July 25 after seven previous seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills.
• Quarterback C.J. Beathard returned to practice after a foot sprain kept him out Tuesday.
• The 49ers have set up a donation program for used cars, trucks, RVs, boats and even real estate to benefit the 49ers Foundation’s charity programs for kids. Fans looking to donate (tax deductible) can call (833)-4NINERS or visit www.49ers. com/vehicledonation.