Should the Seahawks trade Richard Sherman?

It might sound crazy, but Seahawks general manager John Schneider won’t automatically dismiss the concept of trading Richard Sherman.

Former league executive Mike Lombardi floated the possibility during a podcast on The Ringer, according to ESPN.com.

“I truly believe based on what I hear around the National Football League that the Seahawks would in fact for the right deal trade Richard Sherman,” Lombardi said.

Just what is the right deal?

A Herschel Walker-type trade in which the Seahawks get a boatload of draft picks would be one possbility, but nobody is going to bite on that.

Sherman turns 29 Thursday and has two years left on his contract. They probably don’t envision re-signing a cornerback in his 30s to a megadeal, even a four-time Pro Bowler like Sherman. Perhaps they would consider getting something more than a compensatory draft pick in return for him.

“I mean, we listen,” Schneider told ESPN.com when asked about trading Sherman. “We listen to like everything you would think. We’re in a lot of stuff. We try to pride ourselves on that. I think I’ve told you guys before we walk away from 98 percent of the deals that we’re involved with or talking about.”

The Seahawks are smart to listen to any offers, but they’re better off letting Sherman play out his contract. They’re one of the few teams in the NFL that has a legitimate chance to win the Super Bowl year-in and year-out. Part of the reason for that is Sherman’s 30 career interceptions. There isn’t a lot of depth at cornerback behind Sherman. DeShawn Shead, who also will be 29 next season, and Jeremy Lane would presumably be the starters if Sherman was traded. They have four career interceptions between them.

Assuming no team is willing to give up enough draft picks to get the Seahawks to part with Sherman, the only other scenario that would make sense for the Seahawks would be if they get an elite left tackle, like Tyron Smith from the Cowboys, Taylor Lewan from the Titans or Trent Williams from the Redskins. Imagine Sherman and Josh Norman in the same secondary.

The Seahawks are no stranger to blockbuster trades, sending Pro Bowl center Max Unger to the Saints for Jimmy Graham two years ago. But they addressed their weak offensive line by taking a flier on draft bust Luke Joeckel. Sherman is likely to stay in Seattle for the next two years. A lot can happen between now and then, and letting him walk in free agency could be more palatable for the Seahawks in 2019 than it is now.

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