UPDATE (11/2, 9:30 a.m. PT): Ricardo Lockette will undergo surgery to stabilize ligament damage in his neck.
UPDATE (11/2, 5:25 p.m. PT): Ricardo Lockette undergoes successful neck surgery.
ARLINGTON, Texas - Wide receiver Ricardo Lockette was carted off the field on a stretcher in the second quarter of the Seahawks' Week 8 game at Dallas after colliding with Cowboys free safety Jeff Heath near midfield on a Seattle punt.
Lockette appeared not to move after taking the hit, but once he was put on the cart television cameras caught Lockette acknowledging the Seahawks training staff. As Lockette was carted off the field into the tunnel at AT&T Stadium, he raised both fists to the sky and formed an 'L' with his right hand, the Seahawks players' signal for 'Legion of Boom' and its alternate meaning 'Love Our Brothers.'
The press box announcer later relayed that Lockette had suffered a concussion, but has full movement in all extremities. The FOX broadcast said Lockette had been taken to a local hospital.
"He'll stay here overnight," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said of Lockette after his team's 13-12 win. "He was clearing for the concussion stuff in terms of scans and stuff, but they've got some other tests to do here. We'll figure it out. He had a sore neck and we'll figure out what that all means, but we're grateful that he was able to bounce out from that and be pretty positive about it right now as we hear from him."
Carroll called Lockette's scare a "hugely emotional" moment for the Seahawks.
"What stood out the most was the love that was coming from his teammates," Carroll added. "It was so obvious that they were so emotional about it. He's a great kid and he's been with us a long time and everybody loves the heck out of him. He's down there cheering them on while he's all curled up and all. The outpouring of emotions from our guys to him in trying to handle the moment, they were so emotional about it and we gained control and did it and went to halftime and came back out and played a good football game, finished it and really we dedicate that to him."
Doug Baldwin, one of Lockette's closest friends, stressed how thankful he was to learn his fellow wideout was OK.
"He's a very loved player in our locker room, and he's extremely tough," Baldwin said. "He's one of the toughest guys on our team, so for him to be down on the ground, you knew it was something serious. For them to have to call the cart out, that just doesn't happen to him.
"That's our brother. I came in with him. I know a lot of the guys were really hurting for him, because we didn't know what was going on, but we're thankful he's OK."
Added free safety Earl Thomas: "All I could say was, 'My heart is with you.' You see him kind of tear up, and it's like the connection is there. You're near him, it's like, dang, this game is so violent, man. We've got to be grateful."
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