RENTON — A week after Percy Harvin’s hip became the most-talked about story in the Seattle Seahawks training camp, the receiver announced the bad news himself via Twitter.
Harvin, the Seahawks’ marquee offseason acquisition, will need surgery.
“When everything is goin good sometimes life throw u a curve ball… sorry to half to report that my injury will require surgery,” he wrote. “Nobody was more anxious and excited about season then….but I will be back strong as ever..i appreciate all the love and prayers 12th man.”
The Seahawks subsequently confirmed that Harvin will indeed have surgery Thursday.
Harvin’s agent did not return phone calls, but according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Harvin is looking at a three-to-four month recovery time.
Assuming Harvin now opens the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, the Seahawks would be able to activate him any time after Week 6, but thanks to a change in that rule, the Seahawks could wait until as late as Week 15 to activate him.
And while the Seahawks have a potentially explosive offense with or without Harvin — they averaged 32.4 points per game in the second half of last season and the playoffs — this is certainly a huge blow to a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Harvin might have been more of a luxury acquisition than one of need, but the Seahawks were still clearly thought highly of what he could bring to the team, giving up first and third round picks, then signing him to a six-year deal worth $67 million including $25.5 million in guaranteed money. That’s not the kind of capital a team gives out just for fun, but rather the steep price a team pays for a difference maker.
Earlier in the day, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said following practice that the team was waiting for more information, but said, “We are just going to help him get right and whatever time frame that is we will figure that out when we have all that information then.”
Carroll did deny earlier reports that said Seattle’s doctors had cleared Harvin and recommended against surgery.
“That’s not right because we haven’t made a conclusion, a conclusive statement about that yet,” he said. “We are trying to wait it out and make sure we take all the time that’s available and all of the information, so whatever those reports were they weren’t correct.”
And Carroll also acknowledged that ultimately the call to have surgery, if that were the recommendation, would fall on the player.
“Eventually he has to say ‘yeah, I’m getting surgery or not,” Carroll said. “He has to OK that. But that’s all going to be with the information from the doctors, they’re all working it out now and trying to get all the information. There ‘s a lot of background work that we are doing here too, but it will be doctor’s recommendation and of course the patient always gets the final shot.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com.
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