Seahawks notebook: Lockett out for the season

Published 1:30 am Saturday, December 24, 2016

SEATTLE — It was a big play for the Seattle Seahawks’ offense, but it turned out to be a terrible moment for wide receiver Tyler Lockett.

Late in the first half of Saturday afternoon’s game against Arizona at CenturyLink Field, Lockett came open up the left sideline and caught a pass from quarterback Russell Wilson for an apparent Seattle touchdown. Though the ball was spotted just outside the goal line after a video review, the greater concern was for Lockett, who stayed down on the field.

As he was pulled down by Cardinals safety D.J. Swearinger, and as the two players dropped to the turf, Lockett’s leg was caught beneath the two of them. He suffered what was apparently a compound fracture of his lower right leg.

“(When) I got up close to him, there was blood everywhere near his ankle,” Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson said. “So that was an ugly situation.”

Lockett had an air cast placed on his leg and was taken from the field on a cart. According to Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, Lockett will need surgery and is finished for the season.

Lockett’s teammates showed visible concern, both on the field at the time of the injury and later in the locker room.

“Obviously Tyler, being so close to the rest of us in the receivers’ room, and knowing how hard he works and how dedicated he is to his teammates, to see him go down with the injury that he did was pretty devastating,” wide receiver Doug Baldwin said.

Baldwin was asked if he realized how serious the injury was.

“Yeah. I think (Lockett) did, too,” said Baldwin, who added, “all of us were heartbroken for him over there, and he was consoling us. That speaks volumes about his faith and his resolve and the manner in which he goes about handling obstacles.”

Said Wilson: “Tyler is such a special player, such a special person, and he means so much to our football team.”

Lockett, a second-year player, was coming off the best game of his NFL career: seven receptions for a career-high 130 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown, in last week’s 24-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Also injured against Arizona was starting running back Thomas Rawls. He suffered a bruised shoulder in the first half and did not play in the second half. Backup Alex Collins, a rookie from Arkansas, played the rest of the game and had seven carries for 28 yards.

“I thought Alex really sparked us,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “He looked good. He ran real hard, he made (four) tough catches and did some good stuff for us.”

Also, safety Kam Chancellor left the game and later went to the locker room with an ankle injury in the first half, but he returned to play the second half.

Wagner sets team record

Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner recorded 10 tackles Saturday to set a single-season franchise record with 155 total tackles. The previous franchise record was held by linebacker Terry Beeson, who totaled 153 tackles in 1978.

“It means a lot because it just shows how you put a lot of hard work into the offseason and you just try to go out there and have a great season,” Wagner said. “To get that record is (awesome). Unfortunately, it came under these circumstances.”

Wagner, who was named to the Pro Bowl last week, finished two tackles shy of his previous single-game career-high of 12 tackles, which he recorded earlier this season in Seattle’s 6-6 tie at Arizona in Week 6.

“We knew coming into the season that he was going to do some great things,” Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright said. “He definitely deserves his Pro Bowl (spot) and he should be an All-Pro.”

Ryan returns

Though he was unavailable for comment after the game, Seattle punter Jon Ryan bounced back from the concussion he suffered against the Rams last week. After being cleared late in the week, Ryan punted four times against the Cardinals and also served as the holder on Seattle’s extra points and field goals.

Not-so-special teams

On a day of offensive and defensive miscues, Seattle’s special teams also had their share of problems.

Place-kicker Steven Hauschka had a field goal blocked — the kick seemed to come out low and was blocked by one of Arizona’s interior linemen — and he also hooked an extra-point try wide left, perhaps due in part to a high center snap.

Ryan also had a punt blocked, though the ball ended up 6 yards past the line of scrimmage and statistically was recorded as a deflection, not a block.

“(The Cardinals) weren’t trying to block the (punt),” Carroll said. “That was a one-man rush. (Arizona’s Alex Okafor) just pressured and got it. I think we probably didn’t block it as well as we needed to.”