Seahawks Safety Earl Thomas will have Shoulder Surgery

By Cheri Cheng - 06 Feb '15 10:44AM

Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas will undergo surgery to repair a fully torn labrum in his left shoulder, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported.

Thomas had separated his shoulder during the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers. Right before Super Bowl XLIX, head coach Pete Carroll stated that Thomas was good to go. After the 28-24 loss against the New England Patriots, however, sources were told that Thomas, who wore a brace during the game, had played with a fully torn labrum.

"Since I was a little kid, every time I got hurt I always came back in the game," Thomas said last week "I played third base on my All-Star baseball team and a lined ground ball hit me in my mouth. I was wearing braces at the time, so my lip got stuck to my braces. I had to go to the emergency room. My dad said, 'Do you want to play? Do you want to go back and play?' I was like, 'Of course.' So this is me. I love competing."

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that the estimated timetable will be around six to eight months. Thomas is expected to make a full recovery by the start of training camp.

Thomas was the third player in the Seahawks defense to play in the Super Bowl with an injury. Safety Kam Chancellor had a torn MCL and severe bruising in his knee. He is expected to undergo surgery as well.

"So I just prayed for health and happiness. I prayed for peace and just to be able to make it to the game and play as much as I could for my teammates," Chancellor had said in regards to his injury. "It's not a matter of talking about being injured and playing. It's about being grateful for getting the opportunity to still even play through the injury."

Cornerback Richard Sherman suffered a left elbow injury against the Packers and might need Tommy John surgery. During the game, cornerback Jeremy Lane broke his arm in the first quarter and will also have surgery.

"It was an extraordinary effort from guys who played through unbelievable issues," Carroll said on Monday according to Seahawks.com. "That was a heroic thing that those guys did to play. They wanted to play for their teammates and they did exactly that, and they did it in great fashion."