Seahawks’ Richard Sherman: ‘A different kind of joy’ as new dad

RENTON – Four months of fatherhood has changed Richard Sherman in one very specific way.

“It’s changed my hours of operation,” the Seahawks cornerback joked Tuesday, drawing laughter from a group of reporters who had gathered around him following the team’s practice. “You’re pretty much open for whatever hours he wants to get up and scream.”

Sherman, 27, became a father for the first time in early February when his girlfriend, Ashley Moss, gave birth to a baby boy. His name is Rayden, and like most his age, his needs don’t exactly come on a set schedule. Sherman knows that’s part of the gig.

“It just gives you a different perspective,” he said. “Obviously, more patience, more understanding, getting excited for things like a laugh, a smile, him turning himself over by himself, him finding a way to kick and try to crawl but still lying on his face somehow. It’s just a different kind of joy.”

Rayden was born four days after the Super Bowl, good timing considering the game-day dilemma that could have posed for Sherman. He played that game practically with one arm because of an elbow injury that he’s still recovering from. But that hasn’t excused him from one of the less-than-enjoyable tasks for parents of newborn babies.

“I’m definitely on diaper duty,” he said. “That’s one thing you learn, you learn that you must replace the first diaper quickly between diaper changes because if you don’t, there’s a very serious danger there that he may just let loose. Sometimes I think he does it on purpose. It’s like, ‘Oh yeah, he slipped up again.’ But it’s been really fun.”