There were injury questions about Richard Sherman when the 49ers signed him to a three-year, free-agent contract in March.
The former Seahawks All-Pro cornerback was coming off a significant injury in 2017: a torn Achilles’ tendon in his right leg. For a 30-year-old defensive back, there were concerns about how quickly he could recover and if he could return to the level of play he reached with Seattle, where he was the marquee player on the NFC’s most dominant team.
On Tuesday, Sherman showed his recovery is coming along well.
On the first day of the 49ers’ full-squad, three-day mandatory minicamp, Sherman, who hadn’t participated in any on-field activities this offseason, was suited up with the rest of the cornerbacks and participated in a 15-minute drill, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
Afterward, Sherman told reporters that his Achilles’ tendon felt strong, and that he’s on track for full participation in training camp when it opens in July. Sherman said the tendon actually started bothering him in training camp last summer with the Seahawks, and this week is the first time he’s felt the leg is back to where it was before the injury.
It eventually tore in early November.
“It kind of got worse in training camp,” Sherman said. “But we just kind of backed off. And I’d practice here and there. And we just kind of babied it as long as we could until we knew it would just go. You can’t baby it in games.”
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The rehabilitation and progress has him feeling optimistic about the way he should be able to play with his new team in 2018.
“I’m light years better than I have (felt) over the past few years,” Sherman told the media. “This is the first offseason I’ve actually got to heal up and let all the ailments go away and come out completely healthy.”
When minicamp ends Friday, Sherman and his teammates will take a break until the start of training camp.
