Top 10 list of why Richard Sherman is now a 49er

It may take some time to get over the fact that one of the thorns in the side of the 49ers for the past several years is now firmly rooted in Santa Clara. Richard Sherman, however, sees his new team as a perfect fit for his football future. There were several reasons why he never left the building once he arrived for his first free agent visit. Sherman spoke via conference call about his new team. There were several technical difficulties (not the norm) with the call so instead of making you listen to it, we compiled a top 10 list of why Sherman chose the 49ers as his next home.

10. He’s “used to wearing a red jersey in the Bay”

Sherman attended Stanford Unversity where he wore cardinal for the Farm. He’s familiar with the area and the color.

9. Family

Sherman will be marrying his fiancee at end of the month. Her parents live in Seattle and his parents live in Los Angeles. Sherman also has two children which makes it important for him be on the west coast instead of being further away.

8. Familiar faces

“I don't think it’s going to be a transition at all. I think I’m going to walk right in and understand what I need to do and what is going to be asked of me, where I need to be. In terms of run fits, run fits are pretty much exactly the same as the run fits I’m familiar with. I’m sure there there’ll be some tweaks and adjustments that they put in but I think with Malcolm [Smith] and Cassius [Marsh] being here there will be some familiar faces here.”

7. 49ers wasted no time

“Kyle and John reached out almost immediately, right when it hit the wire. I really appreciated that because it showed there commitment and their excitement to bring me on board.”

Sherman was still in Las Vegas at NFLPA meetings when he received texts that about the 49ers interest in him. He flew to the Bay and where he and his fiancée had dinner with Kyle Shanahan and his wife.

6. It felt natural

“I had dinner with Kyle and his wife. That was awesome, Robert Saleh came out and it was just an awesome dinner, it felt natural. It felt good on both sides.”

5. He was able to see if other teams could beat the offer

Sherman was in communication with the other teams that had pursued him and he also gave Seattle the first right of refusal. He wanted to stay transparent with other teams and did so talking to the the Lions, the Raiders and of course the Seahawks while in negations with the 49ers.

4. The NFC West

The level of competition has been upped and Sherman wants to be a part of it. He is also very familiar with his conference opponents which makes it an even better fit.

3. The fire inside

“This is reigniting that gasoline fire that I’ve always had burning. They just threw a lot more gas on it and I appreciate that. I’m thankful for this motivation and this inspiration. I’ve got a lot of people to put on a show for and I’m excited for that.”

2. The Guru

“I think that Kyle is one of the most innovative and creative offensive minds in football, he and Sean McVay. I told him such. That’s from playing against him and seeing his schemes and that’s from the he was in Washington and Atlanta and also in San Fran. He’s always coming up with two or three concepts that we've never seen and we really have no answer for outside of some real bastardizations of our defense. And that’s spur of the moment on the field with three or four all pro players who can adjust on the fly that way.”

1. The QB

“That was a huge part of it. The way he played down the stretch was inspiring and incredible and it was poised. Sometimes you can get hot. Quarterbacks can get hot and then the next year fall off the face of the earth and you never hear from them again. What I saw from him was physicality, I saw poise, I saw leadership, I saw respect of his teammates I saw command of the offense and he had only been there a few weeks.”