Should the Seahawks trade Richard Sherman for the right offer? 53 percent say yes in poll

Have Seahawks fans changed their opinion on cornerback Richard Sherman? Based on a poll presented by 710 ESPN Seattle’s Brock Huard, the answer is yes.

Here was Huard’s question:

If The Seahawks were offered a 1st & 3rd Round Pick for Richard Sherman would you make that move?

— Brock Huard (@BrockESPN) March 17, 2017

Yes, you are reading that right: 53 percent of the 5,427 voters were in favor of the trade.

Huard and Tom Wassell discussed the results Monday and were a bit surprised by the willingness of Seahawks fans to part with the charismatic three-time All-Pro.

“It’s funny that the fan base values a first and a third that much,” Wassell said. “They either really value that or they just don’t value Sherman the way they should.”

Huard noted that this was the largest response he’s ever had on a Twitter poll and that the voters were especially passionate.

“It was totally split on both sides,” Huard said. “There were both who said, ‘You’re an idiot, you’re an absolute moron if you even consider this trade because of the draft and how unpredictable that is.’ And on the flip side, the others were, ‘I’m done with the antics, I’m done with the selfish nature.’ The key to protect this whole culture and team thing that Pete (Carroll) has built is you care more about the guy next to you than you do your own self.”

Despite fighting through a lingering (and unreported during the season) injury in another Pro Bowl year, Sherman was scrutinized in 2016 like never before following a pair of sideline outbursts and off-the-field battles with the media.

Though general manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll offered reassurances during the NFL combine of the organization’s confidence in Sherman, the rumor mill opened last week when longtime NFL executive Michael Lombardi said in a podcast on The Ringer that the Seahawks could be open to trading Sherman.

When speaking about the New Orleans Saints’ potential interest in acquiring Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, Lombardi said they would be better off calling Seattle.

“If they were to call the Seattle Seahawks up and say, ‘Look, we would be interested in obtaining Richard Sherman, would you be willing to do it?’ I truly believe, based on what I hear around the National Football League, that the Seahawks would, in fact, for the right deal, trade Richard Sherman,” Lombardi said.

Lombardi’s rationale was that trading Sherman would be the best way to ease Seattle’s salary cap, which he described as “kind of a mess.” Sherman is Seattle’s second-highest-paid player and has two years left on his contract, with a cap hit of more than $13 million cap each season.

Lombardi said Seattle was hesitant to give Sherman the four-year, $56 million extension in 2014, following the team’s Super Bowl win.

“I think Seattle really thought twice about paying Richard Sherman,” he said. “They felt they had to when they won the Super Bowl. Now their cap is kind of a mess and they need to fix it. The reason they need to fix it is because they put all that money in the corner position … when we feel like you can draft players to fit that scheme.”

Jim Moore: Contentious exchange with Sherman isn’t a story

Whether the Seahawks are open to life without Sherman or not, Wassell wondered whether Sherman’s current detractors are the same ones who loved Sherman’s outspokenness toward people like Tom Brady, Michael Crabtree and Skip Bayless.

“To me, if you like that, then you’ve got to embrace him all the way around,” Wassell said. “You’ve got to understand that at some point that guy who is being a bad guy to everybody else, might be a bad guy to you too.”

Huard said an apt comparison could be found on the basketball court when looking at the popularity of Gary Payton compared to Shawn Kemp.

“This market loved the Glove. Of all the SuperSonics superstars … the guy that resonated here, the guy that everybody loved was the Glove. Wild. Outspoken. Jaw at everybody. Don’t take crap from anyone. Don’t care that we’re way out in Seattle and never done it before,” Huard said. “… But this market does not love divas when it comes back into their own teams.”

But how do the coaches feel about him?

“I think they love the way he plays, I think they love the way he competes. But I don’t know if they can trust him … to put the team and the team’s needs first,” Huard said.

As for the potential trade itself, both Huard and Wassell said they would not bite.

“He’s too good of a player,” Wassell said. “And you know what the other part of this is. He may come across as annoying to fans but I don’t think he’s been divisive in the locker room. I think his teammates still like him.”

“You don’t have another corner and you need a corner in this system,” Huard said. “I don’t make that deal because you don’t have enough dependable bodies.”

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