TAMPA, Fla. – Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Richard Sherman jumped on a flight -- a Boeing 738 to be exact -- and flew 2,520 miles from Seattle to Tampa on Sept. 28, practiced for two days, and, at the age of 33, having not played in the NFL in 288 days, lined up for all but one of 54 defensive snaps against the New England Patriots five days later.
Sherman learned he’d play Friday or Saturday, but it wasn’t until Saturday night, when starter Jamel Dean was still unable to push off his injured knee, that Sherman found out he would start in a complicated Todd Bowles’ defense.