Hoping the New England Patriots will add All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman to their secondary? Keep dreaming.
One day after a source told the Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe the Patriots maintained “some interest” in trading for the Seattle Seahawks star, Tom Curran of CSNNE reported they are not, in fact, in the hunt to land him.
“The Patriots won’t be in the Richard Sherman business this offseason,” Curran wrote Thursday. “They are not interested in trading for him, according to a source.”
Curran did not refute Howe’s report — which stated the Patriots wouldn’t be real players for Sherman unless they parted ways with restricted free-agent cornerback Malcolm Butler — but said that as of Thursday morning, the chances of the Patriots swinging a deal for Sherman were “kaput.”
“Whether it was Sherman’s salary ($11 million each of the next two seasons), Seattle’s would-be asking price or, perhaps, a sign of detente on the Malcolm Butler front is unknown,” Curran wrote.
Butler’s status is the Patriots’ biggest remaining offseason question mark. The 27-year-old has yet to sign the first-round tender New England placed on him last month, and although he’s met with the New Orleans Saints, they do not plan on signing him to an offer sheet.
The Patriots signed former Buffalo Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore to a four-year, $65 million contract shortly after free agency opened. Bringing back Butler — or trading for Sherman — would give New England one of the best defensive backfields in the NFL.
Thumbnail photo via Troy Wayrynen/USA TODAY Sports Images
