Sidney Rice's first season with the Seattle Seahawks almost didn't happen.
Rice suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder in training camp, an injury that nearly landed him on injured reserve at the start of the season. Rice was able to play through that shoulder injury thanks to a harness -- he also had a foot injury -- and went to catch 32 passes for 484 yards and two touchdowns before a second concussion in a three-week span landed him on injured reserve.
Rice underwent surgery on his right shoulder in January. Six weeks later, Rice he had another surgery to repair a 360-degree tear in the labrum of his left shoulder, an injury that had bothered him since college.
"A lot of slipping out and popping out of place," Rice said of the previous state of his shoulders. "Right now, they’re supposed to be brand new shoulders, and we'll take it from here. Right now I've got to regain my strength in my shoulders and get ready for the season."
The 6-foot-3 Rice has played at just under 200 pounds throughout his career, but Rice is bulking up to 215 pounds this offseason to guard against another injury-plagued season and be the No. 1 receiver that the Seahawks expected when they signed him to a five-year, $41 million contract that included $18.5 million in guaranteed money.
"He's a big part of what we want to do here," Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. "His health is paramount to us. We need a No. 1 (receiver), and he’s the guy we went out and got. So it’s up to him to come back from that."