Tyler Lockett's Seahawks Super Bowl reaction feels perfectly authentic

If you are a dictionary writer and you happen to need photo accompaniment for the word “bittersweet,” you could hardly do better today than find a recent picture of Seattle Seahawks’ legend Tyler Lockett.

Of all members of the broad Seahawks diaspora, none probably felt what Lockett did as he watched so many of his friends and former teammates claim the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night.

In the immediate aftermath of Seattle’s dominant victory over New England in Super Bowl LX, Lockett took to social media to offer a simple message, and there apparently were not enough exclamation marks in the world to adequately convey what he was feeling.

Seattle Seahawks’ glory puts Tyler Lockett’s unfortunate timing in stark relief

On one hand, Lockett was clearly overjoyed. But there had to be a pang of “if only” that went along with the happiness.

Tyler Lockett obviously isn’t the only prominent Seahawks player to just miss out on hoisting the Lombardi Trophy this year. DK Metcalf, Geno Smith, two different Fants – Noah and George – they played a lot of football for Seattle over the years, only to depart one year shy of the championship.

But Lockett holds a special place in the hearts of the 12. He came in the third round of the 2015 draft and played in 161 games for the Hawks over the next ten years. That’s good for tenth on the franchise's all-time list

He is second to the legend who raised the 12 flag before Sunday’s game, Steve Largent, in career receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. His place in Seattle history is secure.

But he never made it to the Super Bowl.

Two seasons before Lockett arrived, Russell Wilson and the Legion of Boom claimed the Hawks’ first league title. A year later, they came within a yard of repeating.

Three months after that, John Schneider chose a wide receiver/kick returner out of Kansas State in the NFL draft. Tyler Lockett officially became a Seahawk.

He played very well for a decade, selected as an All-Pro kick returner in each of his first three seasons. Then he moved into the starting lineup and gained more than one thousand yards from scrimmage in five consecutive seasons. He scored 45 touchdowns over that span.

In his ten seasons, Lockett’s Seahawks teams went to the playoffs five times. But they never advanced past the divisional round. The two times Locket’s teams made it that far, they dug themselves enormous holes and came up just short in their attempted comebacks.

In both games, against Carolina in early 2016 and then against Green Bay four years later, Tyler Lockett scored a late touchdown to keep hope alive. But it never proved to be enough.

Lockett was part of a necessary purge undertaken by John Schneider last offseason. No one can deny how effective the roster moves have been. The Seahawks have a young, talented roster with plenty of cap space. They have the Lombardi Trophy.

But football can be cruel. Moving on from Lockett was the right move. But that doesn’t erase the sense of regret that he couldn’t be a part of this. He arrived at the party just a little too late and then had to leave just a hair too early.

But the 12s always loved Tyler Lockett because he was a Seahawk through and through. He showed his class by congratulating not only his former teammates, but also the team’s fans. It had to have been bittersweet, but hopefully, Lockett knows that, though he was not officially a member of the second Seattle squad in franchise history to win it all, he was still a part of the champions in spirit.