Tyler Lockett has already etched his name into Seattle Seahawks history, but he initially didn't plan on playing for that long.
Lockett, who ranks third in Seahawks history with 7,470 receiving yards, recently revealed that he planned to retire at the age of 30, which meant that last season would've been his final one. Once last season rolled around, though, Lockett realized that he wasn't ready to walk away from the game just yet.
“It just sounded like a good year," Lockett said, via The Seattle Times. "It was like when my financial lady asked me, ‘When do you want to retire? I said ‘30.'
“It was like, ‘All right, you’re 30.' I was like, ‘Ah, I’ll just keep on playing.’”
The Seahawks are very happy that Lockett decided to stick around, as he's still performing well in his age-31 season. Through seven games, the longtime Seahawk has 35 receptions for 370 yards and three touchdowns. Not only that, but he has been a great locker-room presence for the team's younger receivers.
“Lock is a special player because of his ability to just go out there and just run routes or just play football to the best of his ability and at a high level," fellow receiver D.K. Metcalf said. "Just watching him the past five years has been great, because I’ve got to learn a lot from him. But I know that’s one thing that I cannot do, is just not practice and just go out there and make people look silly, but that’s his special gift Lock has.”
Lockett has missed a fair share of practices throughout the season, but he's still just as involved as always. Quarterback Geno Smith says that he's still just as in sync with one of his favorite targets despite the two not practicing together as often.
“Regardless if he practices or not, he’s always in tune with the game plan, we’re always talking through things,” quarterback Geno Smith said. “And when we get in the game, we’re always on the same page.”
Lockett doesn't know for sure when he'll hang up his cleats, but he wants to make sure he leaves on his own terms.
"I just felt like, I’m going to go out there, keep trying to be me, keep trying to play at a high level, try to be there for my teammates, continue to create those relationships,” Lockett said. “At one point, the game is going to end for me, and it’s a matter of when it’s going to end, but I don’t want it to end too short to where I’m like, ‘Man, I could’ve kept playing.’
“I can’t go back and play again, so I might as well just try to see how far I can take it, how far I want to keep on playing and then let whatever happens, happens.”
More must-reads: