TAMPA, Fla. — Two practices into Richard Sherman’s tenure as a Buccaneer, the All-Pro cornerback’s coaches remain coy about how much — or if — he’ll play Sunday in New England.
Sherman was among the first defensive players on the AdventHealth Training Center practice field Thursday morning. So was Jamel Dean, whose knee injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Rams partially expedited the team signing another cornerback.
Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles said afterward that Dean “still has got a couple days to get ready,” suggesting his level of pain tolerance could determine his availability against the Patriots. As for Sherman?
“It’s still early,” Bowles said. “We’ve still got a lot of injuries to go over and everything else like that, but he’s practicing and we’re letting him learn some things so in case he has to, he can go out there and function at a high level and do the right things.”
Sherman, 33, hasn’t played in a game since December. Though the Bucs rank 31st in the NFL in pass defense (338.3 yards per game), coaches ideally would like to avoid thrusting him into action Sunday, when they’ll be facing a rookie quarterback (Mac Jones) after three consecutive weeks of game-planning against proven guys (Dak Prescott, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford).
Currently, Dean still is listed as a starting corner opposite Carlton Davis, with Ross Cockrell and Dee Delaney the backups.
“I think it would be foolish to expect me to come out this week and play at a super-high level,” Sherman said Wednesday. “If I did it, it would be another thing to chalk up as a cool thing I did. But I think the expectation is for me to train and be in shape and give me an opportunity for the following game.”
