Vikings should give former All-Pro cornerback a phone call

With the recent report that Andrew Booth Jr. is done for the season, the Minnesota Vikings should consider signing free-agent corner Richard Sherman.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that Minnesota Vikings rookie cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. is reportedly expected to miss the remainder of the 2022 season following surgery on his knee on Monday, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.

With the loss of Booth, and injuries to other members of their secondary, the Vikings are now in need of some cornerback help.

Could the answer to their corner problem be Richard Sherman, a former All-Pro cornerback who is currently spending his time as an analyst for Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” and podcasting?

Why the Minnesota Vikings should consider signing former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman

Given his current role with Amazon, some might have assumed that Sherman has retired from the NFL. But this isn’t true, at least not according to the cornerback himself.

When it was revealed earlier this year that Sherman was going to be working with Amazon this season, the former All-Pro corner made sure to let it be known that he hasn’t retired yet during an interview on NFL Network. He said he’s still “leaving the door open” for a return to the field, and “if somebody wants to call late December, and needs some help, I’m happy to help.”

Sherman is currently 34-years-old, and he’s coming off a 2021 season in which he appeared in five games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was only on the field for 12 percent of the Bucs’ defensive snaps last year, but in his limited action, he still performed well.

In Sherman’s five appearances last season, opposing quarterbacks only had a 70.7 passer rating when targeting him. In comparison, opposing signal-callers also had a 70.3 passer rating when targeting Minnesota cornerback Cameron Dantzler during the 2021 campaign.

Is Sherman still able to perform at an All-Pro level as he once did when he was a member of the Seattle Seahawks’ “Legion Of Boom” defense? No, that seems pretty unlikely.

However, Sherman can still provide the Vikings with some solid depth in their cornerback group, and he’s also been on multiple successful teams in his NFL career. He knows what it takes to win a championship, and that is currently what Minnesota is aiming for this season as they currently sit with a 9-2 record.

So at the very least, the Vikings should at least see if Sherman is interested in talking about a potential role with the team. If they are able to convince him to sign a deal, then he could potentially play a significant role in Minnesota’s current quest to capture their first-ever Super Bowl victory.