Ricardo Lockette’s 2015 season came to a premature end Nov. 1 after a brutal hit, but he could have lost even more that day.
The Seattle Seahawks wide receiver was blocking on punt coverage when the Dallas Cowboys’ Jeff Heath leveled him with a scary-looking hit.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Lockette flashed a sign with his hands while he was carted off the field, but one wrong move in the moments following the hit could have ended his life. Luckily, skilled trainers were on scene and knew how to handle the situation, and Lockette recently had the chance to thank a Redmond, Wash., fire station for all the help he received.
“I didn’t realize how serious it was until it was over,” Lockette said, via CBSSports.com. “The doctor told me pretty much my skull, all the muscles, all the ligaments that connect my vertebrae. If I would have stood up then, the weight of my head, left right, front back, I would have died.
“If one of my teammates had come over and pulled my arm just barely, I might have died. If the returner at the time would have broken a couple tackles and they would have fell on me on the field I would have died.”
Lockette, who suffered a concussion and damage in his neck on the hit, underwent surgery to repair the injury, and there’s still a long way to go in his recovery effort. But it could have been much worse without the trainers.
Thumbnail photo via Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports Images
