This might be Tyler Lockett’s last game as a Seahawk, but it won’t be his last in the NFL
There was a play in Week 14 that encapsulated Tyler Lockett’s 2024 season … and why it might be his last in a Seattle Seahawks uniform.
Seattle took over at the Arizona Cardinals’ 19-yard line after a turnover late in the first quarter. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb called a shot play for a touchdown. Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s job was to get open on a corner route from the slot and score.
Lockett’s job was to help him.
In his 10th season with the franchise, Lockett’s career has come full circle. He arrived in Seattle as the 69th pick in the 2015 NFL draft and spent his first three seasons as the team’s third option in the passing game. After his third year, he was given a contract extension and elevated to a more prominent role, then led the team in receiving yards and touchdowns in 2018. He spent one season in a 1A/1B situation with Doug Baldwin, then had a similar setup with DK Metcalf for the next four years.
Smith-Njigba was selected with the 20th pick in the 2023 draft with the understanding that he’d be the team’s much-needed WR3 for at least one year, then rise in the receiver hierarchy, which is exactly what happened this season. The result was Smith-Njigba having a career year, leaving him five catches away from breaking Lockett’s single-season franchise record (100 in 2020).
Meanwhile, Lockett has been relegated to a third-option role like his days on a rookie contract. The franchise’s second-leading receiver by catches, yards and touchdowns, Lockett accepted this new reality even though it often meant being the setup man, like he was on Smith-Njigba’s touchdown against the Cardinals.
On that play, Lockett knew he needed to run his curl route to a certain depth versus Arizona’s quarters coverage to get Smith-Njigba a one-on-one opportunity against the safety. If Lockett ran the route too shallow, the corner might have dropped off Lockett and undercut Smith-Njigba’s route or prevented a target altogether. Lockett might have been open for a reception in the latter scenario, but Seattle wouldn’t have scored.
Seattle benefited from having a veteran route runner in the setup spot. Moments like that have come to define Lockett’s season.
“As you get older, a lot of people, they’ll say stuff like, ‘He’s washed, he’s not doing X, Y, Z no more,’ ” the 32-year-old Lockett, whose receptions (47), yards (572) and touchdowns (two) all mark lows since 2017, said at his locker recently. “But it’s just a part of the business, how everybody at some point starts to go younger.
“The only way that you keep playing is if you learn how to adapt and you learn how to make the plays when they come to you. Sometimes when it comes to the business, opportunities, the usage and all that may decrease, and you can’t do nothing about it. But I’m always a team player. I just want to see everybody else win. I know that God got me at the end of the day.”
In March, Lockett agreed to a restructured contract that lowered his 2024 cap charge and increased his 2025 hit to $30.8 million, the third highest on the team behind quarterback Geno Smith ($38.5 million) and Metcalf ($31.8 million), according to Over the Cap. Lockett’s cap number would figure to be untenable for a Seattle team that has a rising star in the 22-year-old Smith-Njigba, who was one of the league’s most productive wideouts during his sophomore season.
Among NFL wide receivers, Smith-Njigba enters Week 18 ranked seventh in catches (96), eighth in yards (1,121) and tied for 21st with six touchdowns (all stats provided by TruMedia unless stated otherwise). He leads the league in yards and receptions when aligned in the slot. With Metcalf’s gravity creating opportunities for other pass catchers, Smith-Njigba emerged as Seattle’s WR1.
It’s fitting that in what might be Lockett’s final game as a Seahawk on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, Smith-Njigba can break his teammate’s record. An unofficial passing of the torch.
“It’s a blessing just to be here and to be next to these guys, ballin’ out,” Smith-Njigba said of the record after Seattle’s 6-3 win over the Chicago Bears in Week 17. “(The record) definitely has some meaning.”
Lockett has been an integral part of the Seahawks for the past decade. He’s never been voted to the Pro Bowl as a receiver but was a second-team All-Pro returner in each of his first three seasons. After signing an extension, he took the mantle from Baldwin as the team’s leading receiver in 2018; Russell Wilson had a perfect passer rating throwing to Lockett that season. The receiver became famous for his fancy footwork and clutch grabs and was widely regarded as one of the league’s most underrated players (Lockett isn’t a fan of that label, though).
Lockett was voted offensive captain in 2022 and was a co-captain along with Smith in 2023. Coach Mike Macdonald elected to have weekly game captains this year, and Lockett was chosen twice. The receiver’s leadership has shown up in various ways over the years, whether staying after practice to help his teammates (on either side of the ball), delivering pregame speeches or leaving a note outside the door to the training room that reads, “Don’t come in here if you’re not trying to get better.”
During Seattle’s home finale against the Minnesota Vikings, Lockett was honored with the Steve Largent Award (named after the franchise’s Hall of Famer receiver) for the third time in four years. The award recognizes a player who best demonstrates the integrity, spirit and dedication of a Seahawk. Lockett accepted that he might have played his final game at Lumen Field. But he does not expect Sunday’s season finale to be the final game of his career.
“I plan on playing next year,” he said.
Lockett’s selflessness during what is effectively a contract year has not gone unnoticed by teammates or coaches. Earlier this year, Grubb said Lockett is “about as good a human being as you’ve ever met in your life” and applauded him for not coming “unglued” when he’s not getting the ball. Smith described Lockett as a consummate professional and great human being while also expressing his appreciation for Lockett’s willingness to play his part without complaining about targets.
“That speaks volumes to his character,” Smith said. “Like I tell him all the time: ‘You’re Tyler Lockett. No matter what happens as statistics go, you’ll always be Tyler Lockett. Nothing is going to change that.’ ”
Lockett said it’s “unfortunate that I’m not really able to do as much as I want to,” but he didn’t want to be the guy openly lamenting his lack of targets.
“If there’s any way that I want to win as a person, I want to win as a team,” Lockett said. “When it comes to me getting the ball, I want it to be something that’s natural and not forced or not me having to say, ‘Hey, man, give me the ball.’ ”
At the same time, Lockett also understands there might be consequences for being a team player when it comes time to find a job in the offseason.
“That’s cool during the season, but then in the offseason when any team is looking at your stats, it turns into, ‘Well, what have you done for me lately?’ ” Lockett said. He later added: “Some of this stuff is unfortunate, but there’s going to be things in life that’s unfortunate, too, and you’ve just got to learn how to overcome it and rise above it.”
Between fantasy football and sports betting, there’s arguably never been more attention paid to offensive statistics. Lockett hears the critiques about his game, the claims that he’s no longer the same player. But turn on the film, he said, and you’ll see him consistently winning on his routes and getting open. He sees his decline in production as a function of a diminished role, not a drop-off in skill.
“There’s things where you’ve got to be able to really tune in to see he really is still helping his team in other ways outside of just catching the ball,” Lockett said. “But sometimes that’s all you can do until you get in positions to get the ball.”
This season, Lockett became the latest Seahawks star to help bring along the player who ultimately made him more expendable. He joins former teammates such as cornerback Richard Sherman (Shaquill Griffin) and linebackers Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright (Jordyn Brooks). Like those Seahawks stars before him, Lockett might be shown the door without much discussion about returning at a drastically reduced salary (Wagner’s 2023 return notwithstanding).
If that happens, Lockett will officially close the book on one of the greatest careers by a wideout in franchise history. His time in Seattle won’t have a storybook finish, but it will end in quintessential Lockett fashion, with him trying to help the Seahawks win, however he can.