Frightening Details Tell How Close Seahawks’ Ricardo Lockette Was To Dying On The Field After Hit Last Season

It’s every athlete’s nightmare: Getting injured during a game and being carted off the field with no idea of the severity of the damage done. For Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette, that was his reality last season during a game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Covering a punt on special teams, Lockette was illegally blocked by Dallas’ Jeff Heath, a blow that sent the Seattle player to the ground and leaving many worried about his prognosis.

New details have emerged from the hit, and, according to Lockette, had trainers not rushed to the field and secured his neck as quickly as they did, carefully putting him on the cart with precision, the injuries were so bad that he may not be alive today.

Per Fox Sports:

“I didn’t really realize how serious it was until it was over. The doctor told me… all the muscles, all the ligaments that connect my vertebrae, and the cartilage between that… the cartilage is out, ligaments are torn. He said 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 would have came over and pulled my arm, just barely, I might have died. Or if the returner had broken a couple tackles and fell on me, I would have died on that field.

But what saved my life were the trainers, and the work that you guys do. The trainers came over, and they said they did it perfectly. Perfectly, by the book.”

Lockette told his story while visiting a group of firefighters and paramedics to thank them for the job they do everyday, so I’m sure his story hit home and brought many to tears. Thankfully, the wide receiver underwent neck surgery after that game and is still working his way back through recovery.

[H/T FOX Sports]

Nick Dimengo avatar
Nick's a Sr. Editor for BroBible, mainly relying on his Sports Encyclopedia-like mind to write about things. He's also the co-host of the BroBible podcast "We Run This," and can be seen sweating his ass off while frequently running 10+ miles around Seattle.