Seahawks-49ers rivalry heats up with Richard Sherman’s response to Frank Clark’s comments

The Seattle Seahawks-San Francisco 49ers rivalry hasn’t really been much of one at all in recent years. The Seahawks have won 10 games in a row against their NFC West Division foe dating back to when Richard Sherman’s tip sealed a trip to the Super Bowl in January 2014.

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Sherman is on the other side of the field these days, however, and even though the 8-5 Seahawks are likely postseason-bound and beat his 49ers 43-16 just two weeks ago, the four-time Pro Bowl cornerback’s comments Thursday ahead of another Hawks-Niners showdown on Sunday added fuel to the fire of the long dormant rivalry.

Reacting to a question that called Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark’s comments from Monday that the “Richard Sherman era is over” in Seattle “the elephant in the room,” Sherman seemed to take a dig at his former teammate.

“It’s like a mouse in a room. It’s like, ‘Kids say the darnedest things,'” Sherman said in a press conference.

That last part seems to insinuate that Sherman still sees the 25-year-old Clark as a kid, which is interesting considering Clark has stepped up as a leader on Seattle’s defense after Sherman was cut, Michael Bennett was traded, Cliff Avril and Kam Chancellor suffered career-ending injuries and Earl Thomas broke his leg all since the end of the 2017 season.

To be fair, the rest of Sherman’s response to that question showed he was understanding about the situation that led to Clark’s comments.

“It didn’t bother me at all. It just seemed like a guy who is probably tired of hearing the same questions. Like, I wasn’t even part of that game and they’re asking him questions after the game about me. I’d probably be pretty annoyed too,” Sherman said. “… The era was over in my mind, obviously. I’m here.”

Seahawks fans might not let Sherman completely off the hook, however, considering the reason Clark was asked about him in the first place was because Sherman had previously called the Seahawks a middle-of-the-road team. Sherman had said that despite the 49ers (3-10) being out of playoff contention and the Seahawks nearing a postseason berth, which Seattle can clinch with a win over the 49ers on the road on Sunday, and he seemed to double down Thursday.

“At the end of the day, in this league, if you don’t end up with the (Super Bowl) trophy, then how great was your season anyway?” Sherman said. “There’s only one team that ends up with the trophy. Unfortunately it won’t be us this year, we’ll see if it’s them.”

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