Tyler Lockett out of Bay Area hospital, flies home on Seahawks chair Jody Allen’s jet
Tyler Lockett is home. In style.
A league source confirmed to The News Tribune Wednesday the Seahawks’ top receiver was out of Stanford Medical Center following his two nights there in the Bay Area recovering from a complicated contusion in his shin.
Lockett flew home on Seahawks chair Jody Allen’s private jet, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
That is what the team does in the rare cases it has to leave an injured, hospitalized player behind when it returns home following a road game. Jody Allen’s brother Paul Allen did it a handful of times in the years he owned the team.
In November 2015, Paul Allen sent his private jet to Dallas to bring Ricardo Lockette home days after his career-ending neck surgery following a hit and injury in a game at the Cowboys.
Allen died in October. His sister, the trustee of her brother’s trust, then became the team’s chair atop the franchise.
Lockett was injured late in Seahawks’ overtime win at San Francisco Monday night. He has 11 days to heal and rest before the next game for Seattle (8-2). That’s Nov. 24 at Philadelphia (5-4), following this week’s bye.
Tuesday, coach Pete Carroll said the team believes Lockett will be healthy and playing against the Eagles.
“He’s better than he was (Monday night),” Carroll said, “and our people think that he’s going to be fine to play next week.”
Carroll said Lockett’s doctors “need a few more (days), the rest of this week, to make sure everything goes away.”
Lockett’s situation is an example why this bye is coming at a particularly advantageous time for Seattle. Yes, teams always say that. But after 10 consecutive games it’s especially true this season for the banged-up Seahawks.
Monday, Carroll explained Lockett had a “pretty severe situation right now, for game night” that prohibited him from flying home with the team.
Asked what made him term Lockett’s injury as “bad,” Carroll said: “Well, I think there was a lot of swelling. The contusion caused a lot of swelling right away. They’ve got stuff; there are concerns about that. So they’ve got to make sure that..there’s a compartment element to it.”
Compartmental syndrome is “a painful condition that occurs when too much pressure is built up within and between muscles. It can damage muscles and nerves and lead to decreased blood flow,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Lockett got injured sometime during the second half against the 49ers, though Carroll said a review of the game film didn’t reveal exactly when or how. Lockett left the game following his short kickoff return on the final play of regulation. The coach said he was struggling through pain playing in the fourth quarter.
The Seahawks played overtime with Russell Wilson throwing to rookie DK Metcalf, deep reserve Malik Turner and Josh Gordon, the 2013 All-Pro who had only had four practices with the team entering Monday’s game.
“Not having ‘No E’ (nicknamed that years ago by teammates to differentiate him from now-retired Seahawks receiver Ricardo Lockette) out there, we looked different,” Carroll said Monday night. “And we need him back.”
Wilson said “that was tough not having my guy Tyler out there.”
“Obviously, Tyler has arguably been one of the best receivers in the NFL, if not THE best. Anytime he’s on the field it’s is a good thing,” the quarterback said.
“But I think Malik did a good job stepping up. He made some huge plays and some huge catches. ...The great thing is, we have such a plethora of receivers that can do great things and have confidence. There was no worry or fear.”
Lockett’s three catches for 26 yards against San Francisco were his lowest totals since week one against Cincinnati. He has 62 catches for 767 yards through 10 games. He’s been on pace to set Seahawks records for both categories for a season.
This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 3:07 PM.
