Percy Harvin is officially on the shelf. He'll be there for a while.
It's a tough pill to swallow for a Seattle Seahawks team that imported the playmaker to be the final piece of their puzzle on offense. Still, all is not lost. As Chris Wesseling noted, the Seahawks averaged more than 32 points per game over their last 10 games last season.
Golden Tate had been prepared to cede some of the spotlight on offense to Harvin, though that transfer of power now is on hold. Tate told ESPN's Josina Anderson that Seattle's offense will make do without Harvin.
"As a professional football player, injuries are part of the game. So when a team signs a guy, they know they're taking a risk that could happen," Tate said. "Obviously we would be more dangerous with Percy (Harvin), but with or without him, I still feel like we have enough playmakers to succeed this year.
"I think coach (Pete) Carroll has done a great job of building up this team good enough that if one of the main guys goes down, we still have a chance to compete," Tate added. "That being said, we are going to miss him. He's a huge playmaker and we had big plans for him in this offense, but we're not going to be weeping without him."
Assuming Sidney Rice returns from his jaunt to Switzerland with his knees in good working condition, the Seahawks should continue to score points. A big reason why is Tate, an Around The LeagueMaking the Leap nominee who led all Seahawks receivers over the final 11 games with 42 catches, 635 yards and five touchdowns.
With solid remaining receivers, an ascendant Russell Wilson and the eternally underrated Marshawn Lynch, the Seahawks have all the pieces they need to survive while Harvin recuperates.
UPDATE: The Seahawks had former Arizona Cardinals receiver Early Doucet in for a tryout on Tuesday, according to the Miami Herald.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
