Tracking all the Seahawks getting surgery this offseason

The Seattle Seahawks ended their 2019 campaign with a significant number of injuries to a significant amount of offensive players. It was obvious that the Seahawks felt the injuries, as Russell Wilson’s rotational third target never came through and the run game sputtered to a halt.

Danny O’Neil of 710AM Seattle put up a poll on January 13, with three options for the cause of the Seahawks’ abrupt ending. The results show that the fans seemed to feel the injuries, as well.

Injuries are part and parcel of the NFL season, so it’s not like Seattle is the first team to ever deal with this.

Besides, it’s probably an easier pill to swallow than anyone within 300 miles of Baltimore who’s still trying to figure out which end of the football field is which.

What is a bit unusual is the first three of the Seahawks’ running backs going down, as well as the amount of surgeries that are required for this roster. Additionally, Clowney is the only defensive starter on the list, while four offensive players are finding surgeons.

Here’s the most impactful Seattle Seahawks needing work done this winter:

Jadeveon Clowney will have surgery on his core - which is still the most vague and unhelpful injury designation in sports - this week or next. No word is out yet on specifics, but it is a short recovery, about five to seven weeks. Not generally a thing that lingers and he should enter the bargaining world of free agency with all the chips he would normally have. It is one of the more painful things to try to play through, as it’s muscle pain that’s activate any time you do something more strenuous than read this article.

Neiko Thorpe had sports hernia surgery in early December. Which is another way to say core injury. News on how it went or his recovery has been scant and it probably doesn’t matter either way. There’s a very good chance Thorpe does not return to the team as he hits free agency this year. If there’s no market he might be interested in a one-year option to compete against a flurry of special team hopefuls Seattle now has.

Ethan Pocic also got hurt, and you’ll never guess where!

Still think half the season isn’t this guy’s fault?

The entire team either needs to do significantly less sit-ups or significantly more sit-ups and it’s beyond frustrating that we’ll never know which.

Rashaad Penny may have the most complicated of the injuries on this list, and not just because we actually know exactly where. As was reported, his ACL tear was not exactly normal.

Others said that his knee suffered additional damage beyond the tear. Surgery is already completed, but Carroll admits that it will not be a quick and easy recovery. Having happened so late in the season is unfortunate, and we’ll definitely have to wait and see on this one for Penny’s availability early in the season. A true shame.

Justin Britt was almost lost amidst the more drastic injuries of the season, but his presence was desperately missed down the stretch.

Will Dissly was the heartbreak of the season, as he went down for a second consecutive year. Tell you what, let’s just not play him until Week 17, and then his body’s maximum four or five-game allotment will be utilized throughout the playoffs as he sets multitudes of tight end records.

Dissly ruptured his Achilles in the second quarter of the win against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6. Fortunately, he and coach Pete Carroll are incredibly hopeful because of how well the surgery went. An average estimate for Achilles is a year, with occasional fortunate athletes able to hit the field a bit sooner. Kobe Bryant’s Achilles recovery is one of the most notable - seven months.

Even if Dissly is a bit behind that, give it nine months or so, he’ll be working all the rust off through the end of camp and preseason just like everyone else. It sets up about perfectly for us to find out with held breath whether these injuries were outliers or indicators.

Chris Carson seems to be the primary injury who escaped surgery, for what that’s worth. His broken hip will heal like normal throughout the offseason, and will return for his fourth season amidst plenty of durability speculation headed his way as well.

Additionally, Duane Brown has already recovered from surgery in time to lose a playoff game. What that means is probably a shift to a different rehab schedule since he’s no longer in maintain mode, and he may do some different things to fully recover correctly. He’s already hinted at as much.

Sometimes, there’s even more work to be done after 23 weeks of football games than fans know about (Carson’s surprise knee surgery last year). But some the biggest names on the team already know the path ahead of them, and now begin the long journey of recovery that is an athlete’s cross to bear.