BRADY HENDERSON

Seahawks’ Ricardo Lockette calls return to CenturyLink Field ‘euphoric’

Nov 16, 2015, 2:58 AM | Updated: 12:59 pm

Ricardo Lockette told a crowd at "We Day" that he owes his recovery to support from his fans. (AP)...

Ricardo Lockette told a crowd at "We Day" that he owes his recovery to support from his fans. (AP)

(AP)

What was a disappointing night for everyone else in Seattle’s locker room felt much different for wide receiver Ricardo Lockette, who returned to CenturyLink Field for the first time since sustaining a frightening neck injury that required surgery and ended his season.

The crowd of more than 69,000 erupted just before kickoff when the big screen showed Lockette – with his neck in a brace – twirling a towel over his head alongside Corporal Clayton Pitre, a WWII veteran and former Marine who had moments earlier raised the 12th Man flag.

“Amazing, euphoric,” Lockette said following the Seahawks’ 39-32 loss to Arizona. “To have that many people cheer for you and care for you who have been praying for you is something further than my dreams could reach. I am forever in debt for that. It was one of the best days of my life.”

Perhaps that’s the power of perspective.

Two weeks earlier, Lockette was lying motionless on the turf at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, unable to move or speak at first after a nasty helmet-to-helmet collision. He was taken off the field on a stretcher several minutes later, transported to the hospital and had surgery the next day to stabilize his neck, which had sustained disc and ligament damage.

“It was one of the craziest things I have ever been a part of,” he recalled. “You can’t feel your legs, you can’t feel your arms, you can’t really respond, you don’t really know what is going to happen in the next couple of seconds, you don’t know if you’re going to black out, you don’t if you’re ever going get feeling back in your body, you don’t know if this is it.

“You just have a really blank mind, and then all of the important things start to matter. You start thinking about your family, you start thinking about, ‘Am I ever going to play with my kids again?’ Just the important stuff.”

Lockette spoke with reporters in Seattle’s locker room Sunday night, turning his entire body as he answered each question. He wore a black T-shirt depicting the “L” he made with his right hand while being carted off the field in Dallas. L.O.B. carries another meaning among Seattle’s players, which is “Love our Brothers.”

“It was great to be out here rooting the guys on,” Lockette said. “If I can I walk, if I can breathe, I will be supporting the Seahawks and supporting my boys.”

Lockette won’t play again this season but vowed to resume his career eventually, which has not been a given. He said he’ll be in the neck brace for about six weeks and will begin his rehab after that. Asked if he expects to play next season, Lockette responded: “I expect to be a Pro Bowler.”

In the meantime, Lockette said he’s staying positive amid what he admitted are “extremely different” circumstances. He called the challenge that lies ahead “a real walk in the park” and referred to his neck as being only “a little dinged up.”

“There’s a lot of other people doing a lot worse than me,” he said. “There’s no need for me to walk around and have my own little pity party.”

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