The San Francisco 49ers made headlines when they signed cornerback Richard Sherman this offseason. Not only was he a longtime nemesis of the 49ers during his time with the Seattle Seahawks but there are looming concerns about the ruptured Achilles he suffered in November of the 2017 NFL season.

Fortunately, he has made tremendous strides in his rehabilitation and has been medically cleared for the start of training camp. According to ESPN's Nick Wagoner, Sherman never had any doubt about his recovery:

“The outside world has their [thing], make headlines one way or the other,” Sherman said. “‘He's not going to be ready for these reasons, he's going to be ready for these reasons.' But I never had any doubt. My body was recovering and healing at the rate that they wanted it to heal and working with our strength and conditioning coach, Ray Wright, and getting all of those workouts in was incredibly beneficial and doing the conditioning test and things like that — that helped me get my wind back.”

Sherman's comments should hardly come as any surprise, It goes without saying that he has never been short of confidence. Not even an injury as severe as the one he suffered was enough to shake his belief in himself. His grittiness has now paid off after receiving a $2 million roster bonus for passing his physical.

While Sherman has been vocal about being “100 percent” for the start of training camp, San Francisco has indicated that they will take a cautious approach with him. This means there is a good chance that he will be held out of any contact drills until further notice.

Fortunately, a veteran player like Sherman does not need to partake in every single drill at this stage in his career. Given the high expectations in San Francisco, the coaching staff is more focused on making sure all their key players are ready for the 2018 NFL season.