While we will have to wait until Tuesday for official word on whether Percy Harvin will have surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip, it sure looks like his ultimate destination is the PUP (physically unable to perform) list.
This means that Seattle will likely be without its shiny new weapon through at least the first half of the regular season. Luckily for Russell Wilson and Co. the front office held off on either trading Golden Tate or releasing Sidney Rice, two players who will now be tasked with performing at high levels during the 2013 season.
Both performed well last season, but in the context of a team who threw the ball less than any other in t he NFL; this has to be a bit worrisome. Seattle attempted and succeeded in opening up the offense towards the latter part of Wilson's rookie season, but Harvin was going to be a huge part of that continued progression to a more balanced offensive attack.
It remins to be seen if Seattle still plans on opening up its offense a great deal, but receivers will have to take their game to the next level if it is to happen.
Rice and Tate combined for 95 receptions and over 1,400 yards with 14 total touchdowns. These are numbers similar to what a true No. 1 wide receiver such as Dez Bryant put up in 2012.
Interestingly enough, both Rice and Tate caught over two-thirds of the passes thrown in their direction. This means that they were effective when asked to be. Give them more than the 140 targets they received as a tandem, and they should produce at a higher level.
Doug Baldwin, who will likely be asked to be the No. 3 receiver, caught just 29 passes for 366 yards and three scores. Statistically speaking, it was a major regression from his 788-yard campaign as a rookie in 2011.
Baldwin has to be the true wildcard here. If he fails to up his game from a pedestrian 2012 performance, Seattle will not be in a great situation at wide receiver. If Baldwin is able to at least mirror what he did as a rookie, Wilson and Co. should be just fine.
Seattle also went out there and selected wide receiver Chris Harper from Kansas State in the fourth round of April's draft. The 6'1", 234 pound rookie is about as physically imposing of a youngster as you can get, but is still relatively an uknown. Harper caught 57 passes for 848 yards and three scores last season.
The Seahawks are still planning to run their offense through Marshawn Lynch and the ground game. This was magnified by the selection of Christine Michael in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft and the addition of Robert Turbin the season prior.
Where losing Harvin might not negatively impact Seattle's offense early on, it has to be a long-term concern for the club. It yielded three picks, including a first-rounder this April, for the enigmatic receiver. It also signed Harvin to a six-year, $67 million contract shortly after acquiring him.
Looking solely at 2013, this isn't really a subtraction for the Seahawks. They didn't have Harvin during their playoff run last season and didn't release any players in order to bring on his contract. In reality, general manager John Schneider was looking to add to what was an already talented offensive unit.
However, Seattle did yield a first-round pick in the deal. This means that it wasn't able to add talent where other teams in the NFC West were able to. Eric Reid in San Francisco, Tavon Austin in St. Louis and Jonathan Cooper in Arizona. That does hurt.
As it is, Seattle is still one of the top-five teams in the NFL. Much like Michael Crabtree in San Francisco, it might also get a nice late-season surprise if/when Harvin returns.