As far as cutting future Hall of Famers go, things appeared to be amicable between the Seahawks and Richard Sherman when Seattle dumped the three-time All-Pro cornerback last week.
The team thricetweeted a thank you to the defensive back for his seven years of service. Sherman did the same.
Yet when news of his departure hit the Seattle fanbase, clearly the 12s' reaction rubbed the corner the wrong way.
So much so, Sherman, in a conversation with The MMQB's Peter King on Sunday, admitted the draw of sticking it to his former team twice a year played a role in him signing a surprisingly team-friendly, incentive-laden deal with the rival 49ers this past weekend.
"Vengeful," Sherman said. "I love the fan base to death, and I loved playing there. It was such a great opportunity. I helped the organization get to a great place and stay there. But now it's like I abandoned them. People are out there burning my jersey. Come on. I'm not the one who let me go. They let me go. I didn't abandon anybody."
Anybody in the football world who's watched Sherman's career over the past seven years had to see this one coming. No matter how cordial the departure was (even teammates got in the sappy tweetingmood after his release) and no matter how much it made sense for a rebuilding 'Hawks team to release the DB (he's set to be 30 years old on March 30, he's coming off a severe Achilles injury and cutting him cleared $11 million in cap space), Sherman's always been a player motivated by the chip on his shoulder.
So, manufactured or not, it seemed to be only a matter of time before Sherman expressed a revenge tone when it came to playing for the Seahawks' most bitter rival. Because with a contract that only pays him top-flight money if he's healthy and playing at a consistent Pro Bowl level, Sherman might need all the motivation he can get to return to lockdown corner form.
