Seahawks Lockett Retires After Playoff Neck Injury

11 May, 2016

Ricardo Lockette has played his last down in the NFL.

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday that the veteran wide receiver will be forced to retire due to the neck injury he suffered in a game with the Seattle Seahawks last November. Lockette hinted at the news on social media.

Lockette — an undrafted free agent who spent all four of his NFL seasons with the Seahawks — was in punt coverage when he was injured on a violent block from Cowboys safety Jeff Heath during a Week 8 win. Lockette remained down on the field for several minutes before being transported to a local hospital. He was diagnosed with ligament damage in his neck and underwent immediate surgery.

Lockette entered the offseason as an unrestricted free agent and had expressed optimism that he would be cleared to resume his career. That clearance, apparently, never came. Lockette is scheduled to attend a Seahawks news conference Thursday.

Lockette won a Super Bowl ring with Seattle during the 2013 season. He might be best remembered as the intended receiver on the Russell Wilson pass that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler to clinch a Patriots victory in Super Bowl XLIX. Last year, he wrote in an essay for The Players Tribune that he can’t re-watch the play.

“I see that ball coming, man. I’ll never stop seeing it,” he wrote. “The next thing I know, I’m on the turf on my knees. I’m looking around like, Okay, it’s incomplete? I look across to the Patriots’ sideline, and I see Tom Brady jumping up and down. And then I look across to our sideline and I see our guys with this blank look, with their heads dropped.

“I will never forget that pain. Never.”

NFL.com

Image NFL.com

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