Update 2/9: According to reports after further evaluations, Sherman will not need surgery after all.
Richard Sherman will need Tommy John surgery for elbow injury
Sherman didn’t miss a play during the Super Bowl, but he’ll need surgery to repair torn ligaments.
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
*****
Richard Sherman managed to play through an elbow injury in the Super Bowl, but the Seattle Seahawks cornerback will need to have Tommy John surgery this offseason, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll confirmed Monday.
The injury occurred late in the NFC Championship when Sherman's arm got pinned as teammate Kam Chancellor attempted to make a tackle. He remained in that game, despite appearing to be in serious pain. After knocking off the Packers, the Seahawks called the injury an elbow sprain. Sherman practiced in full leading up to the Super Bowl and did not miss a snap on Sunday. It appears he did so while playing through a significant injury.
Tommy John surgery is much more common in baseball with pitchers often requiring the procedure to repair injured ulnar collateral ligaments in their throwing elbows. The recovery time is significant for a MLB pitcher, but would likely be less of an issue for Sherman. Surgery could impact Sherman’s offseason and possibly his availability heading into the 2015 season, although Carroll doesn’t believe that Sherman will have to miss any time, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
DeMarcus Ware is among recent NFL players who needed elbow surgery. He underwent the surgery in February 2014 and was able to recover in time for the start of last season.
See More:
