Seahawks’ Tyler Lockett on his knee injury: ‘I’m good and alive’
Sep 22, 2016, 11:44 AM
Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett says it will take more than a knee injury to keep him off the field. (AP)
(AP)
Tyler Lockett is a tough guy. Almost folklore kind of tough. He says he once played through a lacerated kidney and a broken bone in his wrist. That’s why re-entering last Sunday’s game against the Rams to haul in a 53-yard bomb after a knee injury surprised his coach but not Lockett himself. That’s also why when 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny O’Neill asked the second-year wideout Wednesday how he was feeling, the response should have come as no surprise.
“Oh, I’m good,” Lockett said. “I’m good and alive.”
Because to Lockett, that’s all it takes. The speedy and slight wideout was listed as a limited participant in practice Wednesday but coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday that he expected Lockett (as well as dinged up receiver Doug Baldwin and starting running back Thomas Rawls) to be ready Sunday against the 49ers.
When asked about the injury, Lockett wouldn’t get into specifics, saying “I can’t really talk about it. I went to Kansas State, so coach (Bill) Snyder said never talk about your injuries.” However, he did talk about the way he views pain.
“I just kinda got hurt a little bit, but the way that I look at it, pain is temporary,” he said. “It wasn’t serious to me to where I couldn’t not go back out there. Obviously, (the coaches) thought that I wasn’t going to be able to go back out there but, to me, it’s not over until it’s 0:00 on the clock.”
Although unwilling to talk about any current ailments, Lockett opened up about a few of his past injuries. He said he played a whole basketball and football season with a broken bone in his wrist that needed surgery; two quarters against Oklahoma State with a lacerated kidney; and a game in his senior year against Iowa State with “two pops” in his hamstring.
After the Rams game, Lockett told ESPN’s Sheil Kapadia that he would “need to be in a coffin” for him not to return to the field. He reiterated that stance Wednesday.
“You gotta kill me in order for me to stop playing. I’ll find a way to keep playing,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what I have. If I had a broken foot I’d still be out there playing.
“As long as I can walk at the end of the day. As long as I’m alive, I’ll keep on fighting.”
Other highlights from the conversation
• The 23 year old still gets the rookie treatment from Baldwin and Richard Sherman – calling him “runt” and “rookie” – though not for much longer. “I told them they got one more week because, obviously, they say you’ve got three more games to get an accredited season. So I was like, ‘Say what you want, have as much fun as you want, but after this week, I’m not taking anymore.'”
• Lockett is not sweating the questionable offensive pass interference called against him in Los Angeles. “At the end of the day, if they call it, you’ve got to find a way to win. I look at it like if you play basketball. Everybody’s gonna be calling fouls but I’m not the type of person that’s going to call a foul. I’m just gonna go out there and play. And even if they foul me I’m gonna try to make it. I’m the same way whenever (I’m) out there as a receiver. Regardless of what happens, I’m gonna try to catch the ball. If they call this a flag on me then so be it. Next time they throw it I’m gonna catch it again. … I thought I was too small to get pass interference, but obviously not.”
• Lockett has a burgeoning career off the field with a few commercials, including a few with Auburn Volkswagen. Lockett said he has no real experience performing in front of a camera but wants to be an actor.
