The San Francisco 49ers introduced Richard Sherman to the media on Tuesday, and he offered an update on the status of his Achilles and bone spur injuries. He said he expects to be back on the field by May or June.
Sherman said he had the bone spur procedure because of an injury he had dealt with for several years. That portion of his injury is a 4-to-6 week recovery period. Sherman was back on a treadmill before that procedure, and will return to it as soon as that recovery wraps up.
If Sherman is back on the field by the end of the offseason workout program, that would bode well for the start of training camp. But even if he is not 100 percent ready for the start of training camp, it sounds like his roster bonus is relatively protected. Initial reports had his roster bonus payable on the first day of training camp if he passed a physical. Sherman wrote an article for The Players’ Tribune today, and in it he said he will receive the $2 million so long as he passes a physical by November 11, the last day a player can be brought off the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.
The 49ers are comfortable with his recovery. They were on the phone with him approximately two minutes after the Seahawks officially released him. They have protection in the contract, but their aggressive move shows a team that thinks he can be a playmaker for them. Given the status of his injury, things seem to be off on the proper foot.