After Seahawks safety Earl Thomas had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder in February, word was that there was “no doubt” he’d be ready to play when the Seahawks open the regular season.
The lack of doubt was a bit surprising given the six-to-eight month timeline given for a full recovery from the surgery and it seems that the passage of time has allowed some doubt to creep into Thomas’s head. Thomas told Ed Werder of ESPN reports that while he is making steady progress in his rehab from the surgery, he’s not expecting to be cleared for the early portion of training camp and that he’s uncertain about his status for the season opener against the Rams in St. Louis.
“I’m unsure about everything at this point,” Thomas said. “I will find out more when I get back to Seattle on [July] 30th when I take my physical.”
That’s obviously not ideal for the Seahawks given Thomas’s importance to the team’s defense, but it would be far worse to rush in hopes of getting back for Week One if taking a more patient approach makes it likelier that Thomas will be 100 percent for a greater number of games.
With almost two months to go before the Seahawks take the field for the first time in the 2015 season, there’s plenty of time for Thomas’s status to become more certain and it will surely be something they’re watching closely in Seattle.