Seattle Seahawks left tackle Russell Okung injured his shoulder in the team's 34-21 loss to the Carolina Panthers nearly two weeks ago. Per CBSSports.com, Okung emailed all 32 clubs to inform them of his impending surgery.
Okung said he faces a five-month recovery period and added that interested teams should respond as soon as possible. In July, He announced that he would be representing himself in free agency this offseason and explained his decision in a column for The Player's Tribune.
Okung has no qualms about venturing into the free agency waters sans an agent.
"I've been very intentional about my research," he said the day after the season ended. "I've been very intentional about understanding my situation and looking at it from a factual standpoint. So once I've been able to do that, it's been pretty smooth. ... Because I've been willing to study, I think I'll be fine ."
Okung is one of seven Seahawks starters slated to be unrestricted free agents this offseason. Though we can commend him for being proactive, he is still under contract until March 9. If any team contacts him before then, it's considered tampering. However, informal decisions between teams and agents can happen prior to the deadline.
The Seahawks selected Okung with the sixth overall pick in 2010. The 28 year-old has started 72 games in six seasons with the club.
"He's been a great factor in our team," head coach Pete Carroll said. "Really sick to see him get hurt in that game. It was a very (unusual) accident that happened, you know. But he's been a leader, and stellar for years. Really consistent. Been a great kid."
