Neck injury forces WR Ricardo Lockette to retire

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette retired from the NFL after five seasons.

Lockette suffered a career-ending injury at Dallas during a Week 8 game after which medical personnel explained the injury could have been life-threatening. Lockette went to the turf at AT&T Stadium after a hit he absorbed from Jeff Heath of the Cowboys while covering a punt. Doctors told Lockette that if he would have moved while motionless on the field, or a teammate would have moved him, it likely would have led to immediate death.

He had neck surgery in Texas before being transported back to Seattle.

"The doctor told me pretty much my skull, all the muscles, all the ligaments that connect my vertebrae. If I would have stood up then, the weight of my head, left right, front back, I would have died," Lockette said.

The 29-year-old had 22 career catches for 451 yards and four touchdowns. He was undrafted out of Fort Valley State University in 2011 and starred on special teams.

NFLDraftScout.com had his top 40-yard dash time at 4.24 seconds coming out of college at 6-2, 211.