Richard Sherman joined the millions of NFL fans who watched the San Francisco 49ers sideline scuffle unfold Sunday. His former teammate Deebo Samuel took a swing at long snapper Taybor Pepper during the 49ers' road contest. Samuel appeared to confront kicker Jake Moody for missing a third field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but Pepper stepped in to defend.
Pepper since revealed what occurred during that heated moment. Sherman, however, offered his brutally honest take on Monday via his Richard Sherman Podcast. He defended his former wide receiver teammate.
“When Deebo Samuel goes up to him and says ‘lock in', you don’t defend him [Moody] from that. You don’t get to defend him from accountability from the team,” Sherman began.
The perennial Pro Bowl cornerback turned Amazon Thursday Night Football analyst knows that no one would come and save him if he makes a glaring mistake.
“If I give up a touchdown pass and one of my teammates say ‘hey come on now, lock in', somebody’s not going to come in and save me,” Sherman explained.
Sherman, who won the 2019 NFC title with the 49ers, concluded with this message.
“You gotta be tough. This is the National Football League, if you make a mistake you are held accountable, just like everybody else,” Sherman said.
Aftermath of 49ers' sideline incident
The altercation sparked massive amounts of conversations among fans and analysts. Sherman was one who chimed in with his honest take. But how did each member of the 49ers react to the scuffle?
Pepper did more than address the matter postgame after the 23-20 victory. He took to his Instagram account to reveal he's moving forward.
“We are on to Seattle,” the first part of his caption reads. “Left the beef in Tampa and the focus is winning a divisional game this week.”
Related San Francisco 49ers NewsArticle continues below
Head coach Kyle Shanahan got asked about the incident postgame. He admitted “I didn't see it.” Yet he added “Brothers scuffle. I didn't see it [and I'm] not too worried about it.”
Samuel wasted little time in addressing the sideline fight. He confessed he rarely lets his temper boil over.
“Normally I don't even get like that, but just frustrated in the heat of battle, a close game and I kind of got out of character a little bit,” Samuel said via Nick Wagoner of ESPN. “But I'll talk to Moody and we'll get past it.”
Sounds like the 49ers are already moving past the issue per each player speaking out. They now have an opportunity to win a season-best third straight game by knocking off the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in Santa Clara.
