Tyler Lockett Details Bout With COVID-19

As COVID-19 wreaks havoc once again in the NFL, the majority of vaccinated players who have contracted the virus haven't had many symptoms or any at all. But that wasn't the case for Lockett, who serves as a cautionary reminder the pandemic remains a major concern.

RENTON, WA - As the Seahawks have dealt with their first COVID-19 outbreak over the past two weeks, coach Pete Carroll has indicated on numerous occasions that most of the players who tested positive were asymptomatic or had minimal symptoms.

But as star receiver Tyler Lockett attested on Thursday, not every player infected with the virus got quite so lucky.

Lockett, who has been vaccinated but hasn't received the booster, started experiencing cold-like symptoms on December 15, but his test came back negative that day and he participated in Seattle's practice. By Wednesday night, he began experiencing chills and a sore throat among other symptoms. After self-reporting his symptoms the following day, his latest test came back positive and he landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

“It was very exhausting," Lockett detailed of his experience with COVID. "I could barely move. My throat was hurting. I had chills. My chest was hurting. I was very, very anxious. My mind was just wandering because I was probably thinking too much. I was throwing up. I threw up the first day a couple times, but just once after that, I just had no energy, so I was barely eating. I think I lost like eight pounds.”

Like the rest of the United States and the world, the NFL has been hit hard by the arrival of the new Omicron variant, which has spread like a wildfire. More than 150 players league-wide have tested positive for the virus over the past three weeks, leaving teams short-handed and in special cases, as the Seahawks experienced themselves, forcing game postponements.

During the same week Lockett and running back Alex Collins tested positive, the Rams had more than 25 players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. After deliberation, the NFL and NFL Players Association agreed to move Seattle's Week 15 game in Los Angeles from Sunday to Tuesday night with hopes more players would test negative and be activated in time to play.

Unfortunately, while the postponement helped several Rams return in time to suit up on Tuesday against the Seahawks, including cornerback Jalen Ramsey and receiver Odell Beckham Jr., the decision didn't benefit Lockett. While he started to feel better coming out of the weekend, his tests remained positive, which kept him in isolation and prevented him from being available to play in a crucial divisional game.

"It was one thing to be tested positive on Thursday, but then to be positive again Friday and be positive again Saturday and then be positive again Sunday and Monday and then Tuesday," Lockett elaborated. "You’re starting off your day seeing three positive tests. That’s the hard part. Every day, you’re building yourself up only to start back over the next day. In the same boat of saying, ‘Bro, am I ever going to get through this?’”

Without Lockett, Seattle fought valiantly but came up short in a 20-10 road loss, all but ending the team's slim playoff hopes. While it was too little, too late, he finally tested negative two days later, allowing him the opportunity to return to practice amid a short week of preparation to face Chicago.

After experiencing what he called a second bye week, Lockett admitted his legs weren't fully under him after not being able to do much in isolation. But despite not being close to peak condition, he returned to action with three catches for 30 yards in a 25-24 loss to the Bears on Sunday.

"I was at home laying down because I couldn’t really do much else. I just laid down and played the game," Lockett said. "That’s all you could really do. Anything you had to do with getting up and moving around, you just didn’t want to do it. Times when you did feel good, you didn’t want to do too much and start feeling bad again. When I came back, I ran hard on Thursday, I ran hard on Friday, then I just had to get ready to play on Sunday. I had to catch my breath and all that type of stuff, but to me, if you’re going to play then you’re going to play. There’s no excuses if you play.”

While the Omicron variant doesn't appear to have as severe of symptoms as the Delta variant did, however, Lockett's difficult bout with the virus provides a not-so-friendly reminder everyone must still take precautions in regard to the pandemic. Even world class athletes continue to be greatly impacted with 12 Seahawks landing on the COVID-19 list over the past few weeks.

Keeping that in mind, with two games left to play, Lockett has a new appreciation for being healthy and able to return to the field. Only five yards away from setting his own personal single-season record for receiving yardage, the 29-year old would view such an accomplishment as a cherry on top after everything he's gone through.

“Once you come down with COVID, you start realizing none of this stuff matters because you really just want to beat it and move past it. And I think sometimes it makes you take a step back, because we get so caught up in all these accomplishments and all these things that we care about and we don’t even realize that without our health, none of it even matters. I think being able to come back, you want to have a different perception and a different viewpoint of how you see things, but now I’m just thinking for each day that I get it, and how can I make the best out of it.

“And the fact that I do have a chance to be able to have the most yards that I’ve ever had in my career history, that’s even a blessing on its own. And that’s something that if it does happen that I will be thankful for.”