Kansas City Chiefs’ Anthony Sherman announces retirement, with eye toward next career
In the locker room after the Chiefs had advanced to their first Super Bowl in 50 years, coach Andy Reid sought out fullback Anthony Sherman for a hug.
“One more,” Reid told him as he patted his back.
“One more,” Sherman replied, “for you.”
“No, man,” Reid said. “For you guys, too.”
In a locker room of 53-plus, Sherman was among the few who had understood the full depths of Reid’s — and the franchise’s — journey to the Super Bowl. He was one of just three players — along with tackle Eric Fisher and tight end Travis Kelce — left from the roster when Reid had arrived in 2013, one year after a 2-14 season.
That list stands at just two now.
Sherman, 32, announced Thursday his retirement via a video on Twitter, saying he’s turning his focus forward to a new career, apparently as a deputy sheriff.
“Kansas City. Thanks for all the memories. It’s been a great run — eight years, Super Bowls, but it’s on to the next chapter,” he says in the video, wearing a deputy sheriff’s vest.
Sherman played 10 years in the NFL, despite occupying a position — fullback — that is becoming increasing obsolete in the league’s passing offenses. Including in Kansas City.
But as his eight-year Chiefs tenure progressed, he found a home as a lead blocker and as a leader of the special teams, where he played at least 200 snaps in every season. He totaled 2,593 special teams snaps in his career, which began in Arizona, the organization that drafted him in the fifth round in 2011.
He scored five total touchdowns in his career, his lone score last season serving as one of his most memorable. The Chiefs dialed up a play especially for him in which quarterback Patrick Mahomes flipped an underhand pass his way for a touchdown against the Ravens. The Chiefs called it Smoked Sausage, in homage to Sherman’s nickname, The Sausage.
Sherman was scheduled to be a free agent in 2021. For the first time in the Andy Reid era, the Chiefs do not have a fullback on the roster. If it’s a position in which they prefer to keep on the roster, despite its limited usage within the offense, they’ll have to acquire one via free agency, the draft or an undrafted free agent. They’d pursue one capable of playing special teams.
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 5:59 PM.