Richard Sherman trade rumors continue to swirl; What would it take for Dolphins to land CB?

The Seattle Seahawks are contemplating trading All Pro cornerback Richard Sherman. The Miami Dolphins would like to add at least one top-tier cornerback this year, bolstering a unit that was riddled with injuries last season. Is this a perfect match?

Now, to be fair, the Seahawks do not seem to be desperate to trade Sherman, but they are not eliminating the idea either. This seems to be a New England Patriots-type move for the Seahawks, where they are looking at an expensive player ($13.6M this year) who is nearing the end of his contract (through 2018) who will be 30 when his contract expires. Could they get something - and something substantial - in return for Sherman?

If the Seahawks trade Sherman, they will pick up $4.4 million in dead money, but they will get back about $9 million in space this year. A team adding Sherman would be paying him about $11.2 million per season over the next two years.

As of Thursday morning, the Dolphins have $20.4 million in cap space for 2017, according to the NFL Players Association.

Interestingly, over at Field Gulls, SB Nation’s Seahawks site, a fan vote for what the Seahawks should do with Sherman has 64 percent of the vote in favor of trading him.

What would it take to pull Sherman from the Seahawks? A lot - but maybe not as much as you might think.

Again, Sherman is nearing that magical 30 number, where many cornerbacks suddenly fall off a cliff. Some do not, however, and Sherman could easily be one of those, upon which a team would be betting if they were to make this trade.

It was not that long ago, back in 2013, when an elite cornerback was traded. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sent the New York Jets a 2013 first-round pick (13th overall) and a conditional 2014 fourth-round pick (which became a third-rounder) for Darrelle Revis. In that case, Revis was younger, at 27-year-old, than Sherman is in this case, but Revis was coming off a torn ACL at the time, so there were concerns about his knee.

Sherman did play the 2016 season with an MCL injury, but it is nothing as serious as the Revis ACL tear. He has, however, been in some “heated arguments,” as Field Gulls’ described it, with teammates, coaches, and the media over the past few months. Sherman could be forcing his way out of Seattle, either intentionally or unintentionally.

The Buccaneers also restructured Revis’ contract into a six-year deal as part of the trade, something that could happen here to provide some cap space early in the deal.

A trade for Sherman would likely be structured similarly to the Revis trade, so Seattle would probably have to pick up a first-round pick this year, and an early draft pick next year. Would spending Miami’s 22nd overall pick this year on Sherman, rather than making a selection, be the right move? Would it even interest the Seahawks?

Miami could add in a conditional 2018 third-round pick, with a Pro Bowl or some other incentive-based situation making it a second-round pick if Sherman meets that level of play, to try to make it better. Would it have to be a third? Maybe not, but there are going to be other teams - with the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons both already mentioned in the media - that are willing to make a play for Sherman, so if Miami is looking to make this deal, they are going to have to be strong in their offer.

Miami could consider adding a player into the mix to try to sweeten the deal as well, but Seattle’s biggest needs seem to be on the offensive line, where Miami does not have the depth to make a trade. Sending the Seahawks back a cornerback could be an option, allowing the team to get younger at the position and develop someone to replace Sherman, though it does not seem likely the team would be willing to give up Xavien Howard, so would Miami be willing to trade away Tony Lippett or Bobby McCain and would Seattle want either of them?

At the end of the day, Miami’s best offer for Sherman would likely be 2017’s 22nd overall pick and a conditional third-rounder (possibly becoming a second-round pick) in 2018. If the Seahawks are interested, McCain could be added to try to make the deal, though Miami would prefer to keep more cornerbacks rather than trade one away.

There are a lot of “ifs” and speculation to this scenario, but it seems like the Seahawks would at least entertain the idea of sending Sherman somehwere this season. Could Miami jump into the mix and reunite Sherman with former Seahawks cornerback Byron Maxwell? Would the Dolphins be willing to pay the price, likely a steep one, needed to land Sherman? Would you, as fans, be up for the move?