Pete Carroll joined KIRO Radio 97.3 FM's Dori Monson on Friday morning and the Seahawks head coach shared a bit more information on Ricardo Lockette's latest condition. The wide receiver returned to Seattle this past Monday following the surgery he underwent last week in Dallas. Lockette paid a visit to team headquarters on Tuesday.
"He's upbeat and positive and he's not going to be denied of what he wants to do and get done," Carroll said of Lockette. "He's just such a wonderful kid and we just loved him in the program. He's really been with us a long time and been through a lot to get to where he's become such an essential part of our team, so he made everybody else feel good. It's so often that's the case. So this was kind of a hero again to us. So it was fun to see him and support him and get him to feel comfortable getting back in."
Lockette's surgery, which stabilized ligament damage in his neck that he suffered during a hit in Seattle's Week 8 win over the Cowboys, will end his 2015 season early. His long-term football prognosis is still unknown, but despite the injury Carroll said he expects Lockette to continue to be around the club when he's ready.
"We always welcome our guys," Carroll said. "We're always looking for ways to help our guys get better and to grow and to learn and all of that. So when he's ready to do that we told him we're ready for him to come on back and we'll put him to work in a sense. But he is a very connected player with both sides of the ball and everybody on this team, so we want him around us as much as possible."
Carroll's full interview with Monson is embedded for you above, where the Seattle coach also touches on this week's Sunday Night Football matchup with the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals.
