Rams rivalry with 49ers gets more interesting thanks to Sherman

Just when it seemed like the Los Angeles Rams no longer had to worry about Richard Sherman being in the division, the cornerback decided to sign with the San Francisco 49ers.

Thanks to the defense of the Seattle Seahawks taking a step back last season by not being as effective, the Los Angeles Rams were able to take advantage of the surprise situation, and eventually go on to become NFC West champions. In fact, there were plenty of football fans that believed Richard Sherman took a step back, even before rupturing his Achilles tendon in November.

In fact, this was one of the main reasons, along with money obviously, the Seahawks made the decision to release Sherman last week, leaving many Rams fans to believe they would no longer have to see him twice a year. But after the veteran decided to sign with the San Francisco 49ers shortly after his release became official, it looks like Los Angeles will continue seeing Sherman twice a year after all.

When looking at all of the hype surrounding the 49ers since the team was arguably one of the hottest in football at the end of last season by going 5-0 once Jimmy Garoppolo took over the starting role at quarterback, this almost seemed like a no brainer for Sherman. Not to mention, the addition of Sherman may have taken this exciting rivalry between the 49ers and Rams to a whole new level in 2018.

With all of the excitement surrounding Garoppolo and Jared Goff continuing to develop towards being two of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, San Francisco and Los Angeles already had the potential to become one of the hottest rivals heading into next season. And now that Sherman is going to be sticking around the division after all by joining the 49ers, the Rams realize defending their NFC West title may have just become a little more difficult to accomplish.

Next: 5 reasons Rams should be NFC favorites over Eagles

Paying Sherman $39 million over the next three years may sound ridiculous to some, but his experience and veteran leadership alone will most likely result in this being well worth the risk for San Francisco. After the Rams became the first team in NFL history to go from worst to first in scoring by averaging 29.9 points per game in 2017, the 49ers realized the importance of improving their defense, and Sherman is one of what will most likely be many key moves over the next few weeks with free agency getting underway.