Report: Tom Brady Personally Recruits Richard Sherman To Buccaneers
BOSTON (CBS) -- In last year's Super Bowl, it was Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown, and Leonard Fournette -- three players who were personally recruited by Tom Brady to join the Buccaneers -- who scored touchdowns for Tampa Bay.
Now, Brady is trying his hand at playing GM for the defense, too.
NFL Network reported that Sherman spent Tuesday visiting the Buccaneers. And Mike Garafolo said that the recruitment of the free-agent cornerback is all Brady's doing.
"[Brady] has been speaking directly to Richard Sherman, trying to recruit him to Tampa," Mike Garafolo said on NFL Network, jokingly referring to Brady as the assistant GM. "I had mentioned that to somebody, and they said, 'Yeah, but does Todd Bowles want him? Does Bruce Arians want him?' Bruce Arians didn't want Antonio Brown. Tom Brady wanted Antonio Brown. Antonio Brown wound up in Tampa Bay. So it doesn't even matter to me what the coaches want on this one if Brady himself is focused on bringing Sherman in there. So these two, who have been acquaintances, I would say, since Sherman got in his face many, many years ago when he was a young player for the Seattle Seahawks, now could be joining forces in Tampa Bay. Much of that, Brady himself doing."
The 33-year-old Sherman played in just five games for the 49ers last year, due to a calf strain. He was arrested in the offseason, though reports have indicated that he won't be facing a suspension this season if a team signs him.
Brady and Sherman have a history, dating back to Sherman approaching Brady after a Seahawks victory in 2012 and shouting in his face. Sherman later posted a "U Mad Bro?" meme on Twitter. Sherman was also the first person to congratulate Brady for his Super Bowl XLIX victory in February of 2015.
UPDATE: Sherman has signed with the Bucs. That raises the possibility that he plays Sunday night in Foxboro.