Richard Sherman Says Trade Rumors 'Funny,' Colin Kaepernick Blackballed by NFL

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said Friday he isn't letting trade speculation impact his preparations for the 2017 NFL season. The outspoken defender also discussed the difficulty free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick is having while trying to find a new team.

Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com passed along comments Sherman made during an appearance on the network's First Take debate program. When asked about his reaction to his name popping up in the offseason rumor mill, he shrugged off the buzz.

"I just laugh it off, man," Sherman said. "It's funny to me. But sometimes people need to see you gone to realize what you had. The grass isn't always greener on the other side. But I don't let things like that bother me. The chips will fall how they're supposed to."

Mike Lombardi of The Ringer NFL Show podcast reported last week the corner could be available if the "right deal" was offered to the Seahawks.

Sherman is set to count $13.6 million against the salary cap for 2017 and $13.2 million in 2018 before his current contract comes to an end, per Spotrac.

Those are numbers right in line with the type of production he's provided Seattle since it selected him in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. He's tallied 332 combined tackles, 92 passes defended and 30 interceptions across 96 regular-season games en route to four Pro Bowl selections.

Trading him, especially with the initial wave of free agency now over, would leave a massive void in the Seahawks secondary heading into next season.

Meanwhile, Sherman was also asked whether he felt Kaepernick is being "blackballed" by NFL front offices after his protest of the national anthem last season. He replied in the affirmative, per Kapadia:

"

I'm sure he is. It's difficult to see because he's played at such a high level, and you see guys, quarterbacks, who have never played at a high level being signed by teams. So it's difficult to understand. Obviously he's going to be in a backup role at this point. But you see quarterbacks, there was a year Matt Schaub had a pretty rough year and got signed the next year. So it has nothing to do with football. You can see that. They signed guys who have had off years before.

"

It's a fair point. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback owns a career 88.9 passer rating and can't seem to find a landing spot. Yet, Mike Glennon's rating stands at 84.6, and the Chicago Bears quickly gave him a three-year deal with $18.5 million in guaranteed money when free agency opened.

Sherman added Kaepernick could "be a starter on probably 20 of the teams in this league." While that might be a stretch, his stats suggest he's better than some of those players penciled in to start next season.