From two nights in hospital to right back in lineup? Seahawks optimistic on Tyler Lockett
The Seahawks are back from their bye.
Tyler Lockett is back from the hospital—and on a track to be back in the starting lineup Sunday at Philadelphia.
Seattle’s top wide receiver wasn’t on the field for Monday’s indoor practice. It was the team’s first work since Lockett badly bruised his shin in the Nov. 11 Monday-night win at San Francisco then spent two nights in a Bay Area hospital.
But coach Pete Carroll says the Seahawks remain “optimistic” Russell Wilson’s favorite target for clutch passes will be able to play against the Eagles this weekend.
“He’s doing better. He’s doing better,” Carroll said following the short indoor practice Monday. “We’ll know later in the week his status. We’re hoping and planning on him being able to play.
“But, yet, he has to show it to us. So, we’ll see.”
Lockett was injured late in Seahawks’ overtime win at San Francisco last week. Carroll explained after it Lockett had a “pretty severe situation right now, for game night” that prohibited him from flying home with the team. He stayed back under doctors’ care for two days and nights at the Stanford Medical Center near the 49ers’ Levi Stadium.
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.
What a great time for the season’s only bye week.
“He’s really on the road to recovery now. He’s past that. That was just the initial concern,” Carroll said. “We’re very fortunate that we were at a great place. They took great care of him and all that. Everything worked out fine. Now, he’s just on the road back.”
No need for Lockett to practice Wednesday, when the Seahawks (8-2) are next on the field again to prepare for the Eagles (5-5). By then, he will have had nine full days to heal the leg.
But Carroll and the team’s medical staff would like to see him practice or at least prove he’s able to run freely again before the Seahawks’ flight to Philadelphia Friday or by week’s end.
“We’re optimistic about it, but he’s still going to have to do it,” Carroll said.
“The extra days absolutely are helping us here. So we’ll take full advantage of that.”
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 last week. “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.
Lockett eventually flew home on Seahawks chair Jody Allen’s private jet from the Bay Area Wednesday, two days into his teammates’ bye-week vacation.
In the few, previous times the Seahawks have had to leave injured, hospitalized players behind from road games, late owner Paul Allen’s plane brought them back. One example: Ricardo Lockette from his career-ending neck injury in November 2015 during a game at Dallas.
Carroll said it is an odd, unsettling feeling leaving road games without one of his players.
“Always, it is. You don’t like leaving guys behind,” the coach said. “I always try to imagine what that’s like, to be left behind. You got one of the trainers with you and that’s it. The club is going home and celebrating and having fun, all of it that you’re missing. The uncertainty of it.
“I think it’s mostly, my thoughts go to the player. I think that they’re in an uncomfortable, unfamiliar situation. It’s unfortunate.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 7:00 PM.
