NFL’s injury report only helps gamblers, says Sherman

The Associated Press

7 years ago

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman stretches during warmups before an NFL football preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first half of an NFL football preseason game, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

RENTON, Wash. — Richard Sherman again took shots at the NFL, saying the injury reports that teams are required to produce each week are simply to help gamblers.

Sherman has been listed on the injury report each week this season, first with a thigh injury and then with a hamstring injury. He was not listed at all last year even though Seahawks coach Pete Carroll revealed after the season that Sherman had played through a significant knee injury, which led to concerns that Seattle was not being accurate in its reporting.

Sherman said Wednesday that he believes the injury report is just to help set point spreads on games. “I thought we weren’t a gambling league and we were against all those things. But our injury report is specifically to make sure the gamblers get their odds right,” he said.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the injury report is a decades-old policy to ensure accurate information is provided to other teams and the public.

“It is designed for competitive fairness purposes and curtails the potential for someone to attempt to gain and exploit inside information,” McCarthy said in an email.

Sherman joked that this week he would be listed with a toe injury. He was listed on Wednesday as a full participant with a hamstring injury.