Larry Fitzgerald ‘can’t wait for rest of NFL’ to see 49ers’ Trent Sherfield
SANTA CLARA — Trent Sherfield’s emergence on the 49ers’ receiving corps caught many by surprise the past month.
Not Larry Fitzgerald Jr.
Sherfield learned in Fitzgerald’s superstar shadow the past three seasons when they were on the Arizona Cardinals, and Fitzgerald is raving about Sherfield.
“Trent is what every coach dreams of in a player. a man who is immensely talented and has the desire to improve in every facet of his game,” Fitzgerald began in an email exchange Sunday. “He wants to be coached hard daily and held accountable. Trent doesn’t point fingers or make excuses for anything. When he makes a mistake which is rare he learns from it and that same mistakes doesn’t happen again.
“He knows every single position and is willing and able to play all of them at anytime,” Fitzgerald continued. “His selflessness shows up daily, if it’s picking up a fellow teammates plate in the lunchroom, running a decoy route in practice on scout team or helping raise and mentor his little brother living with him and his wife during the season.
“He never once complained about the lack of opportunities (with the Cardinals). He was only committed to improving and not allowing the things he didn’t control to chip away at him mentally.
“The 49ers are getting a player the team, organization and community can all be proud to have. I personally can’t wait for the rest of the league to see what all of us close to him have seen for the past three years.”
The 49ers signed Sherfield primarily for his special teams prowess, rather than as an enticing reserve behind Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.
Undrafted out of Vanderbilt, Sherfield had only one touchdown among 28 receptions with the Cardinals. He emerged as a reliable receiver and deep-threat target through 49ers’ practices this summer, however.
Last week, Sherfield commended Fitzgerald for grooming him for a bigger role, in the NFL and in life.
“Little nuggets I learned from him helped me transformed my game not only as a player but as a person,” Sherfield said. “Larry is as advertised: a really good guy. He didn’t have to tell me anything on the field. I just watched him.”
Fitzgerald has not signed up for an 18th NFL season, nor has he announced his retirement. His career with the Cardinals (2004-20) has produced 1,432 receptions that are second only to Jerry Rice (1,549) in NFL history.
“I was genuinely grateful to have Larry as a rookie, as a young guy coming up in this league,” Sherfield added. “A lot of guys don’t have that. It was definitely an advantage.”