Eagles/Seahawks. 3:45 to go in the 2nd quarter. Eagles trail 16-7. Nelson Aghholor is wide open in the middle of the field and is hit in stride by Carson Wentz.... drop. That infamous play is one of the many strains on the 2016 season by the Eagles WRs and one that stood out as #1 to many Eagles fans. Who was the DB the much-maligned Agholor beat on the play to get so wide open? Richard Sherman. Not only did he beat him, but after the play, Sherman had to go back and pick up his jock strap before the next play. Yes, this is only one play, but it is an example of the regression the Seattle CB showed this past season, and why any Eagles fan should have concerns about acquiring him.
When you sign or trade for players in sports, you want to acquire them for what they will do, not what they did do. Richard Sherman is 29 years old, and is coming off a season where he looked very pedestrian far too often. He will have a case to make the Hall of Fame once he retires, but right now at this very second, he is no longer the best CB in the game. Not even close. Could he return to that level? Absolutely. Would I beat quality draft picks on it? Not a chance in hell. The worst thing you can do in the NFL, especially for a building team, is to forfeit your high draft picks for old(er) players coming off of down years. It's too risky, and it's just bad business. Data has shown over the years that once you hit the age of 30, your prime years are typically behind you. Sure, there are exceptions, and maybe Sherman is one of those cases, but you'd be stupid to risk giving away a young player who you control for a minimum of 5-7 years on it.
The Eagles are trying to build something special. Fans may not want to hear this, but I truly believe the best way to win a championship in sports is much akin to the original Reid and Banner model. Be highly competitive every single year, and hope one of those years you break through and the luck goes your way. "Going for it" in sports works at far less of a rate than most people think, and by breaking bank on shortsighted moves, you shrink your championship window, thus lessening the chances that you win a championship. Sherman would be the epitome of that kind of move. The Eagles need cost-controlled young players to help build a contending product for 5-10 years. Not artificially speed up the process and delude yourself into thinking you're ready to bring a Lombardi to Philly when you aren't.
There is a chance Richard Sherman will never be the same player he was ever again. There's also a chance he is. However, putting it right down the middle, at most, he probably gives you 2 years of elite play, and from then it will be all downhill. You will have sacrificed a vital building block for a 2 year sprint to the finish line, when your starting point is the Milky Way and you need to reach the Andromeda galaxy. Then, in a few years, when you see the player Seattle takes at pick #14 or pick #43 contributing for them for the next 5+ years, and Sherman is an afterthought in Philadelphia, you'll all be thinking "Man, I wish we had this guy on our team." And you could have... if you were just smart and patient.
Just say no to Richard Sherman.
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