Richard Sherman hates quarterbacks. That isn’t anything surprising. He’s a cornerback. Thanks to his coverage, his job was to make life miserable for QBs. It didn’t matter what team they played for; Sherman hated them. He even hated his own, Russell Wilson, during their time together in Seattle. However, the former All-Pro understands that quarterbacks deserve respect. While he feared nobody, there were certain ones he hated playing against. From the sound of it, Justin Fields is one of those guys.
Sherman has been impressed with the young Chicago Bears quarterback’s progress in recent weeks. He believes a big part of that is the decision by the coaches to finally utilize Fields’ legs as a weapon. They’re using more designed runs and getting him out of the pocket. The former cornerback knows better than most what a nightmare it is to defend guys like that. He explained why to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
“It forces you to prepare for every look,” Sherman said. “It forces you to prepare for him as a runner, which means the free safety has to be involved regardless of what the coverage scheme is because they can create an extra gap — 11-on-11 football, the same thing Baltimore does week in and week out. The quarterback has to be willing to do it. It sounds like Justin Fields has bought in.”
Richard Sherman has seen Fields’ type up close.
He went against Colin Kaepernick twice a year when the Seahawks and 49ers battled for the division in the early 2010s. Then he got a taste of Lamar Jackson during the quarterback’s MVP campaign in 2019. There were also early glimpses of Kyler Murray in Arizona. Sherman knows how dangerous these types of quarterbacks are. What makes Fields even harder is how good he is at throwing deep. That puts even more pressure on the secondary to cover every blade of grass. It is a nightmare.
Hearing Richard Sherman offer praise on any quarterback is noteworthy. His default setting is to take digs at them whenever possible. So that admission was probably hard. It was also a sign of respect. Fields has more work to do before joining the NFL’s upper echelon of quarterbacks. More help has arrived in the form of wide receiver Chase Claypool. Presuming he stays healthy, the final two months should see more progress from the 23-year-old.
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