San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman is preparing to enter his second year with the team. A year ago, he was being held out of practices because he was still rehabbing an Achilles injury. This year, Sherman has the benefit of taking part in all of the 49ers' offseason program.
Sherman dealt with a calf injury for most of last season. He recently told the Sacramento Bee it felt like he was playing on one leg. The veteran cornerback feels much better now.
"I feel great," Sherman told reporters on Tuesday. "I'm moving good. I'm getting in and out of my breaks. My press is back to where it was. I'm not feeling the pain or inhibition that I was feeling last year. That's a double thumbs up."
Sherman believes he is benefitting from participating during the entire offseason program. It will help his timing, communication, and chemistry with his teammates.
"Any time you've got to initially get that in training camp, it's difficult," Sherman added. "It takes months, years sometimes to develop that kind of connection. We get a lot more time this year, and I'm looking forward to it. It's been a great first few days."
Sherman was impressed by quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo during Tuesday's practice.
"Jimmy was threading it," Sherman said. "He got the ball right where he wanted to. Obviously, he's been limited in the things that he can do, but today he had a lot of reps, and he looked really good. He was putting the ball in some risky spots, where it seemed risky. It was real confident throws. He completed every single one of them.
"It just shows where he's at in his progress, and what he's been able to do, and how hard he's been working."
Sherman did note that there was one rep during practice where he felt he could get to the Garoppolo-thrown pass.
"He threw a ball that if the receiver doesn't get it, there's no way I can get it, but if he throws it anywhere else, I can take it," Sherman explained. "It was just a great ball. It was a confident throw from him. It was exactly what you want to see from your quarterback."
The video below is courtesy of Grant Cohn of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.