TAMPA, Fla. — For a cornerback who has spent his career flourishing on a figurative island, Richard Sherman questioned his sea legs.
In terms of live game action, the 33-year-old All-Pro wasn’t supposed to even dip a toe in the water until this week’s home game against the Dolphins at the earliest. But circumstances can turn on a dime in the frenetic world of the NFL. As the Bucs’ injury count increased, so did Sherman’s odds of playing significantly in New England.
When fellow corner Carlton Davis exited with a quad injury late in the first half, significantly segued to constantly.
“Once they told me I was going to play the whole game, then I started getting into energy-conservation mode throughout the game,” said Sherman, who logged 58 of the team’s 59 defensive snaps despite signing with Tampa Bay only four days earlier.
“You hate to say you saved some for the swim back, but it was like, you don’t have a choice at that point, because I don’t know exactly what I have for the rest of the game. ... And even still then in the fourth quarter, my legs were like Jell-O, but you’ve just got to soldier through and do what you can to help the team.”
With that improbable, indefatigable effort in Sunday night’s 19-17 triumph, a surreal five-day odyssey concluded for Sherman, who arrived in Tampa on Tuesday, signed on Wednesday, and somehow delivered on Sunday.
“I know from recent history of watching ‘Sherm’ that he’s a ballplayer,” said outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who played five fewer snaps than Sherman. “So him being out there just instantly makes our team better, and him to come out there and play, perform ... 58 out of 59 snaps, it’s crazy. And the way he held it down, it was amazing.”
A Stanford graduate, Sherman said the days leading to his debut as a Buccaneer included some collegiate-style cramming, a steady stream of questions and patience from peers and coaches who took time to explain signals and concepts they might have deemed rudimentary.
He even confessed to having one eye on film study during his evening FaceTime calls to his wife and kids. During the game, teammates consistently barked out play checks to him, in case he wasn’t up to speed.
“‘TB’ (defensive coordinator Todd Bowles) has a lot of variety in his packages and what he likes out of his corners, and corners over, and the movement and the disguises and things like that,” Sherman said.
“So it did take a second, it took a lot of hours of just going back and forth, and a lot of questions that may have been dumb for other guys to ask, but I didn’t know.”
The result: seven tackles (tied for the team-high), a fumble recovery, one pass-interference whistle and minimal exploitation in single coverage. Coach Bruce Arians said he thought Sherman played “really, really well.”
“I think any time you’re able to come into a brand-new situation and a brand-new team and step in that week and contribute, and not even just contribute but to play the way he was able to play the entire game, I think it was very impressive,” receiver Chris Godwin said.
“But I think when you look at his career, I don’t know if anybody was really surprised by that. He’s such a cerebral player, and I think that really showed.”
Not to Sherman, who remained his own harshest critic Wednesday.
“The coaches were giving me credit in the meetings. They’re like, ‘Man, it’s a tough spot to be in, and we understand,’” he said. “But to me, you’ve got a standard that you’re used to playing at, and I didn’t play up to my standard. So regardless of circumstances, I was frustrated when I watched the tape.
“There were some plays where I could physically see myself, I’m making the right movements, I’m making the right steps, I’m putting myself in the best position, my legs just weren’t there, and I can understand that.”
The sea legs can’t return soon enough. On Wednesday, Arians said he didn’t expect either of his season-opening starting cornerbacks, Davis or Sean Murphy-Bunting (dislocated elbow), to return to action any time soon.
Moreover, former Patriot Stephon Gilmore, another All-Pro cornerback briefly on the market, was acquired Wednesday by the Panthers via trade. With no reinforcements arriving right away, Sherman must keep processing — and performing — on the fly.
“It will be a lot faster, a lot better and a lot more crisp this week with a full week of practice,” he said.
