First the bad news: Richard Sherman's career as a left-handed pitcher is likely over.

Now the good news: Sherman is practicing without limitations five months after injuring his elbow in the NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers.

Sherman met with the media Tuesday after once again going through Organized Team Activities with no brace or obvious ill-effects from the injury that almost required offseason surgery, which would have meant a nine-month recovery.

"I was relieved," Sherman said of avoiding surgery. "I mean, I knew I wouldn't have to throw a left-handed fastball, so I thought there was a chance I could avoid it, but the more opinions you get, everybody differs on what it would do, and I started taking opinions from different players and apparently, a lot of O-linemen get the injury and they do just fine with it. So I felt confident that I would be able to play without getting the surgery and just rehabbing."

Sherman hasn't completely ruled out a pitching career, hoping he can bounce back like Henry Rowengartner, the titular character in the movie "Rookie of the Year."

But presuming that doesn't work out for him, Sherman will just have to fall back on his career as an All-Pro cornerback. Sherman said he couldn't properly jam receivers with his left hand or wrap up on tackles in the Super Bowl, and that he couldn't do a five-pound curl for a while after the season ended, but with a few months of rehab behind him, he says he's heading into the 2015 season "limitless."

And speaking of Sherman's status as one of the game's best cornerbacks, it just wouldn't be an NFL offseason without another player questioning Sherman's ability, would it? This month it was New York Jets corner Antonio Cromartie, who on Sirius XM criticized Sherman for generally staying on one side of the field, and for being the beneficiary of playing with safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor.

Sherman being Sherman, he of course had a response ready for Cromartie.

"It's an effective strategy for us and obviously we're playing at a high level," he said. "I guess when you're doing something great, you're always going to have naysayers and detractors, and I guess it's just one of those situations, but it's unfortunate. It is what it is. We're going to keep doing what we do. We've been No. 1 in scoring defense for the past three years. It's like, if it ain't broke, don't break it."

Also of note from Sherman's media session—despite the loss of Byron Maxwell and the injury concerns with Jeremy Lane, Sherman still loves Seattle's cornerback depth.

"I think this is going to be one of our better years at defensive back," Sherman said. "We're going to have great depth."

On the other side of the ball, Sherman has been impressed by what he has seen so far from rookie receiver Tyler Lockett: "He's a very dynamic player. I think you see similarities between him and Percy (Harvin). Obviously Percy was a more physical player; he's a little heavier, more involved in the run game and things like that, but I think Tyler is going to be equally effective as a returner, both punt and kick returner. His speed and elusiveness is going to be an asset to us."