BEREA, Ohio (AP) Richard Sherman backpedaled after blitzing Baker Mayfield.
The outspoken San Francisco 49ers cornerback said Wednesday that he plans to apologize to Mayfield after accusing the Cleveland Browns quarterback of not shaking his hand before Monday night’s game.
Sherman initially said he felt Mayfield disrespected him before the pregame coin toss by ignoring him. But after videos showed that Mayfield did shake hands with Sherman, the defensive star changed his tune.
”It’s definitely my bad,” Sherman said Wednesday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. ”I never want anybody to have to deal with some stuff that they didn’t do. And so, you know, the questions that he’s gonna get and the annoying, nonsense questions about some stuff that happened in a game that’s already been done, you know, sure he’ll get an apology for that.
”I’ll probably reach out to him via text or social media to actually get ahold of him and talk to him in person, I mean on the phone. But, yeah, because that sucks. Yeah, yeah, he definitely deserves an apology, and that’s my bad on that.”
Sherman reiterated those comments following practice.
”I’ve said my piece about it. I’m going to have a conversation with him, and then I’m going to be done with it,” he said. ”It’s just funny it got so big. Man, I thought football is what they watch. I guess it’s the soap opera.”
Just off the practice field, Mayfield said he has not yet heard from Sherman and that he didn’t mean to slight the three-time All-Pro in any way.
”I respect him and who he is as a player,” Mayfield said. ”He’s a great player and has been for a while and in no way did I mean anything like that.”
Mayfield, who has become a target by being brash and boastful, joked that is a rare occasion where there wasn’t incriminating evidence against him.
”That’s the one time the camera and something recording me has gone in my favor,” he cracked.
Mayfield threw two interceptions – one by Sherman in the first quarter – as the Browns were trounced 31-3 by the unbeaten 49ers.
Sherman’s comments came after 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa mocked Mayfield during the game. The former Ohio State star forced Mayfield into a rushed throw late in the second quarter and then celebrated by pretending to plant a flag on the field.
When Mayfield led Oklahoma to a win over the Buckeyes in 2017, he famously planted a red-and-white OU flag on the mid-field ”Block O” at Ohio Stadium, angering the school’s fans and players.
”Good for him. He had it premeditated,” Mayfield said of Bosa’s sarcastic gesture. ”He’s been thinking about that, obviously, for two years now. That’s a long time to think about that loss.”
—
More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP-NFL
—
Freelancer Grant Cohn in Santa Clara, California, contributed to this report.
25% Bonus via Western Union
