The extent of the operation, however, is. Seahawks general manager John Schneider confirmed Thursday that Rice had both of his shoulders operated on after the season.

Rice was placed on injured reserve at the beginning of December, and he underwent surgery just as the regular season concluded to repair a damaged labrum that apparently had bothered him a number of years.

"Sidney played with that in college," Schneider said. "He has played with it his whole career so far. He developed grooves. It's kind of like your shoulder subluxing. It just got so bad, he had a hard time with it so toward the end of the season, we just said, 'Let's try to get him like a month ahead of schedule.' "

the Seahawks did the same thing with Kris Durham, a rookie with the team.

The difference is that Rice had both shoulders fixed. Tom Pelissero, Minnesota radio host and senior editor at 1500espn.com, reported earlier this year that Rice had surgery on both shoulders.

Schneider did not specify whether both shoulders were operated on in the same procedure. He did say that Rice will spend the offseason rehabbing with the hope he will be ready when training camp opens.