Pete Carroll press conference notes: Ricardo Lockette visits Seahawks upon return to Seattle

RENTON – Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said wide receiver Ricardo Lockette visited with the team on Tuesday, a day after returning to the Seattle area from Dallas following neck surgery.

“He looks good and his spirits are great and all,” Carroll said. “He’s hampered, he’s got a brace that he’s wearing, but really forward-thinking and positive about coming back and all that.”

Lockette had surgery on Nov. 2 to repair disc and ligament damage in his neck, which was sustained during a hard hit against the Cowboys a day earlier. The Seahawks haven’t placed him on injured reserve yet – they haven’t had to with a bye following the Dallas game – but Lockette won’t play again this season. Asked if the team has gotten any indication from doctors as to whether or not Lockette will be able to resume his football career after this season, Carroll said: “We haven’t even heard anything about that yet.”

Carroll said he isn’t sure if Lockette can do all of his rehab at the team’s facility, but the plan is for Lockette to still be around the team on a somewhat regular basis, which isn’t always the case with players who have sustained season-ending injuries.

“He wants to be here, we would love to have him here,” Carroll said. “He lives here in town, so we expect him to be around a lot.”

Here are some additional notes from Carroll’s media availability:

• Cornerback Jeremy Lane will again be limited in Wednesday’s practice. He was also limited on Monday, which was his first practice since breaking his wrist and tearing his ACL in the Super Bowl. Carroll said Lane could play as early as Sunday but that the Seahawks don’t want to rush him back onto the field before he’s completely ready.

• Defensive end Cliff Avril and tight end Luke Willson will also be limited in Wednesday’s practice, but Carroll said he expects both of them to be available Sunday.

• Carroll said he feels like running back Marshawn Lynch is no longer hampered at all by the hamstring and calf injuries he dealt with earlier in the season. “I think he’s in very good shape right now for mid-year. He certainly hasn’t been overworked at this time,” Carroll said. “He’s strong and he looks quick and he’s excited about playing. We really have an opportunity to see him at his best right now. For mid-year, that’s a great sign for us as we move ahead.”

• Carroll was vague when asked how Paul Richardson will fit back into the wide-receiver rotation, only saying that he’ll be a part of it and that he has looked good in his return to practice. Carroll indicated on Monday that Richardson will likely play Sunday for the first time since tearing his ACL in the divisional round of the playoffs last year.

• Carroll said the Cardinals are blitzing at about the same rate under new defensive coordinator James Bettcher as they were under his predecessor, Todd Bowles. “They’re coming after you. They’re legit and it’s a big commitment,” he said. “There may be a few little differences in there that we see. But the overall approach of it, they really cause problems for you and they’ve been very effective in creating big plays and stuff.”

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