Seahawks’ Tyler Lockett says recovery from broken leg wasn’t all physical
Oct 18, 2017, 10:13 AM | Updated: 10:45 am
Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett had nearly 200 kick return yards in Monday night's loss. (AP)
(AP)
Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett joined 710 ESPN Seattle’s Bob, Groz and Tom to talk about his recovery from a devastating leg injury, how he spent his bye week, and just who would win a race between he, Paul Richardson, and J.D. McKissic.
Brock Huard’s Above and Beyond: Tyler Lockett
Ten months removed from a broken leg suffered in Seattle’s Week 16 game against the Arizona Cardinals, Lockett says he feels fully recovered physically. This season, he has 16 receptions for 195 yards.
He admits that for him, being able to handle the mental recovery can be the biggest hurdle.
“The physical part will come, that’s what treatment is for,” Lockett, 25, said. “But I think the biggest thing is those five games allow me to be able to see that I’m still able to play this game, (and) I’m getting back to where I needed to be at each and every day.”
It’s been a long road for the third-year pro. Lockett was attempting to haul in a touchdown in that late season contest when his leg became caught underneath Cardinals cornerback Brandon Williams, snapping above the ankle. Lockett’s teammates rushed to his side, and knew immediately the young receiver was in serious trouble (quarterback Russell Wilson later described seeing blood around Lockett’s leg). Lockett, though, couldn’t feel much at all in the first few minutes.
“Honestly I didn’t feel anything when I hurt it, it was just numb,” he said. “I knew something was wrong but I just didn’t feel anything. My bone came out of my skin. It was my (tibia/fibula); had a compound fracture. It’s very frustrating, just because you got to go into surgery, and it’s almost like you got to start back over. You have to learn how to walk again, and do all of these types of things, before you can even get back to be able to play on the field.
Lockett cautioned against assuming players miraculously recover.
“The football season’s over, everybody’s going about doing their business, whether it’s work, whether it’s starting to watch other sports… and they forget about the person who got hurt. Each and every day, that person is in there grinding, trying to get himself right, (and) doesn’t have an offseason. He has to get himself right mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, to be able to come back. So when football season is ready, some people are like, ‘Wow, he came back and he’s a lot better than he was before,’ stuff like that, but it’s because they didn’t see the behind-the-scenes when you were grinding each and every day.”
Lockett also spoke about his bye week, his relationship with Russell Wilson, the Seahawks’ start on offense, and Seattle’s upcoming game against the New York Giants.
