The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed Richard Sherman, adding some much-needed depth to their secondary. The veteran cornerback made the announcement himself on his new podcast.

Sherman, 33, had conversations with the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers, but ultimately chose the defending Super Bowl champions.

“They’re coming off the Super Bowl and they returned all the starters,” Sherman said on “The Richard Sherman Podcast,” addressing why he signed with Tampa Bay. “They have a great veteran team. Tons of talent. Obviously, with Tom Brady at the helm, you’ve always got a chance. Great receiving corps. Elite receiving corps. A great, grizzly veteran front-seven and a very talented backend. So it’s an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

The Bucs have lost multiple starters to injuries in three weeks. Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting got hurt in the season opener, and it’s unknown when he’ll return from a dislocated elbow. Cornerback Jamel Dean suffered a knee injury in Week 3 that could force him to miss at least one game.

The Los Angeles Rams handed Tampa Bay their first loss of the 2021 season, snapping the Bucs’ 10-game winning streak. Tampa Bay has surrendered at least 25 points in all three contests. No team has allowed more passing yards than the Bucs.

Sherman is still dealing with legal issues stemming from a July 14 arrest. The five-time Pro Bowler was charged with two counts of domestic violence and five misdemeanors in total. Sherman has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“It’s just one of those days," Sherman recently told Touchdown Wire's Doug Farrar. "People have bad days, caught me on a bad day. I had too much time on my hands kind of thing. It’s unfortunate, one of those times in life where you reach a crossroads, and my crossroads was seen more publicly. I’m grateful for what happened. It was a good eye-opening experience, good chance for me to find help and get the help I needed and to have some conversations I wasn’t able to have before and to get some clarity that I did not have.”

Sherman played five games for the 49ers last season. He was a Second-Team All-Pro selection just two years ago when San Francisco reached the Super Bowl.

Richard Sherman
In this picture, Richard Sherman #25 of the San Francisco 49ers watches a replay on the big screen during their preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, Aug. 30, 2018. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
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