Only a few weeks ago, former Seahawks teammates Geno Smith and Tyler Lockett exchanged jerseys after the Raiders defeated the Titans in Las Vegas.
But now the two men are wearing the same logo once again, as Lockett signed with the Raiders last week — not only reuniting with Smith, but also with head coach Pete Carroll.
Having to learn offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s scheme, there’s not necessarily a timeline for Lockett to start contributing on Sundays. He’s played only 190 snaps so far this season, recording 10 catches for 70 yards in seven games. He had 49 receptions for 600 yards with two touchdowns for the Seahawks last year.
“I’m going to need more days, as far as immediately [to see] how much he can help. But he’s a tremendous football player,” head coach Pete Carroll said in his Wednesday press conference. “He’s got great background, great savvy play-making ability, a real natural sense about understanding how to play the game. He and Brock [Bowers] and Jakobi [Meyers] share a lot of characteristics in how they play the game and how they make things happen and make it look effortless at times.
”And so, [Tyler] Lockett has been a great performer historically, and I’m thrilled to have him part of the program. I want to see how fast we can move the thing along, see if he can contribute.”
Smith told reporters he’s glad to have Lockett in the building.
“Yeah, it’s just a good feeling to have a close friend of mine right next to me, especially when things aren’t going great, didn’t start off like we’d like to,” Smith said in his Wednesday presser. “But Tyler is a guy who understands me and knows how to get me going. He’s a great locker room guy, great leader. He’s going to provide a ton of information for the wideouts, and especially for our young guys who are still developing and learning.
“And he’s also still got juice, man. He can still play. And so, there’s a lot that he brings to the table aside from him just being a good friend of mine and just having my buddy back in the locker room is pretty cool.”
A third-round pick in the 2015 draft, Lockett has tallied 671 receptions for 8664 yards with 61 touchdowns in his 11 seasons.
