NFL Injury Report: Sidney Rice's Durability Still an Issue

When the Seattle Seahawks signed Sidney Rice to a five-year, $43 million contract in late July, they were pretty much taking it on faith that Rice's durability issues were a thing of the past.

I guess they just have bad luck. Rice has been plagued with a sore shoulder recently, and the word from The News Tribune on Thursday was that he had been held out of practice for the third day in a row.

As of Thursday night, there was no official word on Rice's status, but the report said it "appears unlikely" that Rice is going to be able to go in the Seahawks' season opener at the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll should rule one way or the other at some point on Friday.

It's a tough break (figuratively) for the Seahawks. After getting by last year with a collection of misfits at the wide receiver position, the team signed Rice to give them a legitimate threat. The hope, obviously, was that Rice would recapture the same form he showed in 2009, when he caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards for the Minnesota Vikings.

Instead, it looks like the Seahawks have gotten the Rice of 2010. This is the Rice who waited until the preseason to go ahead with a surgery to repair a hip injury he suffered in the 2009 NFC Championship Game. He wouldn't return until Week 12, and caught just 17 passes in six games.

And now this. What we're seeing is either a simple case of a player who is snake bit, or the continuation of trend. Instead of a good player with bad luck, maybe Rice is a good player who's just plain fragile.

It's probably a little too soon to make such a ruling. Even if Rice does miss the San Francisco game, it's going to be no big deal if he can come back and stay healthy for the rest of the year. The chief concern then will be Tarvaris Jackson's ability to get him the ball.

Then again, that should be the chief concern even now.

LIFE HURTS. THIS INJURY UPDATE BROUGHT TO YOU BY DICKIES