Lockette is reportedly set to announce his retirement Thursday.
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette never fully recovered from the vicious hit he took on special teams last November, and now his career is over.
According to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, Lockette will announce his retirement Thursday. He suffered a serious neck injury Nov. 1 when Dallas Cowboys safety Jeff Heath knocked him to the ground while covering a punt. Lockette immediately went down to the ground without moving and was motionless on the field for several minutes before being lifted onto a stretcher. ESPN's Ed Werder says he's no longer able to rotate his head.
Lockette underwent a surgical procedure the following day in order to stabilize ligament damage in his neck. Though he returned to a warm welcome at CenturyLink Field two weeks after the operation, he never stepped foot on the field again last season.
When Lockette visited a Seattle-area firehouse in March, he commended the first responders for their work the night of the gruesome incident.
"I didn't really realize how serious it was until it was over," Lockette said. "Because the doctor told me, pretty much, that my skull was ... well, all the ligaments that connect my vertebrae and the cartilage were gone. So, the cartilage is out and the ligaments torn. He said that 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 came over and pulled my arm, just barely, I might have died. Or if the returner had the time to break a couple of tackles and fell on me, I would have died on that field. What saved my life is the trainers and the work that you guys do."
Lockette, 29, will retire with 22 career receptions in 34 games. He won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks during their 2013 championship campaign.
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