RENTON — Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett had what doctors called a “perfect” surgery to repair a broken bone in his left hand Monday night, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said.
So perfect that Carroll said again Tuesday that there is a chance Lockett may miss only one game, Saturday at Kansas City.
“They feel very good about him coming back quickly,” Carroll said.
Lockett had the surgery to repair a spiral fracture to his first metacarpal, an injury suffered late in Thursday’s 21-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field.
Carroll said the “first thing that came out” from the doctors following the surgery is that Lockett could return for a Jan. 1 home game against the New York Jets.
“I mean, that sounds crazy, miraculous,” Carroll said. “But they secured it in a way that he can already start moving his hand and stuff like that. So we’ll see what happens. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”
Lockett, who leads the Seahawks with 964 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, has missed just two regular-season games in his eight-year NFL career.
But the Seahawks on Tuesday began prepping for life without him, signing veteran Laquon Treadwell from the practice squad to the active roster.
Treadwell, a first-round draft pick of the Vikings in 2016 at No. 23 overall, played in three games this season after being elevated off the practice squad. Players can be elevated only three times, so he had to be signed to the 53-man roster to play any more this year for the Seahawks. They created room on the roster by putting nose tackle Bryan Mone on injured reserve. Mone suffered an ACL injury against the 49ers and is out for the season.
Signing Treadwell gives Seattle six receivers on its active roster — Lockett, Treadwell, DK Metcalf, Marquise Goodwin, Dareke Young and Penny Hart.
With Lockett out, Goodwin is the logical choice to start alongside Metcalf, with the Seahawks appearing set to slide Treadwell into the third-receiver role.
Metcalf already draws lots of attention from opponents, but Carroll said he could get even more while Lockett is out, which will put the onus on others to step up.
“He just needs to keep plugging, keep working, and we need to keep moving him around, do all the things we do with him,” Carroll said of Metcalf. “But it really gives an opportunity for Marquise. And Tread [Treadwell], we’ll see what he can do to help us, too, and all the way through the ranks. Dareke will continue to play, Penny is working at it, too. So everybody is going to have to fit together.”
Metcalf said “it’s going to be strange” playing without Lockett but called it “just another challenge along the way that we’ve got to overcome.”
Carroll acknowledged it won’t be easy.
“You can’t replace Tyler,” Carroll said. “He’s too extraordinary in what he does. We’ll do other things to offset and hopefully draw the attention we need.”
That means attempting to get more of a running game going. That could be complicated by the health of rookie Kenneth Walker III, who missed practice Tuesday because of an ankle issue. Backup DeeJay Dallas is recovering from a high-ankle sprain that has caused him to miss the past two games.
But mostly the Seahawks will hope they can get significant production from Goodwin and Treadwell.
The Seahawks have gotten a lot of good moments from Goodwin, who has 27 catches for 387 yards and four touchdowns, two coming in a win over the Chargers in October.
But no other receiver on the roster has more than the seven catches of second-year player Dee Eskridge, who remains on injured reserve because of a hand injury suffered Nov. 13 against Tampa Bay.
Eskridge is eligible to return, but Carroll said he had no timetable for that.
Eskridge’s continued absence opens the door for Treadwell.
Treadwell was a standout at Ole Miss. On Tuesday he recalled helping recruit a local high school receiver to the school — Metcalf. Metcalf grew up in Oxford, Mississippi, where his father also played collegiately.
Treadwell recalled going to an Oxford High game Metcalf’s junior season and seeing him catch a screen pass “and jump over a guy and score. I was like, ‘Yeah, he’s going to be special.’ “
The two did not play together at Ole Miss but have kept in touch.
“Since he’s been here he’s fit in well with the group,” Metcalf said of Treadwell, who has one reception for one yard this season with the Seahawks, in the win over the Rams. “He’s just been willing to learn, whether it’s from Tyler [receivers coach] Sanjay [Lal] or myself. He’s always asking questions and just trying to be the best player he can be.”
Treadwell, 27, says he plans to take advantage of another opportunity to revive his career.
He never fulfilled the first-round expectations with Minnesota, with just two TD receptions in four years — one a 58-yarder against the Seahawks at Lumen Field in 2019. Cut by the Vikings in 2020, Treadwell has been with Atlanta, Jacksonville, New England and Arizona before landing in Seattle.
Treadwell caught 33 passes for a career-high 434 yards and a TD last year with Jacksonville when Lal was the receivers coach and said that connection was critical in his signing with Seattle.
“It allowed me to (be) more comfortable coming here and just knowing that a coach already kind of knows what I can do and not read into what the narrative is,’’ Treadwell said.
If Lockett’s “perfect’’ surgery really allows him to come back next week, then Treadwell may only have one game to try to change that narrative of his career some. But he vowed Tuesday to try to make the most of whatever time he gets.
“I take every opportunity very seriously,’’ he said. “ … This is the most important one right now because it’s the only one I have, so I’m gonna do my best to be the best version of myself each and every day, be the best teammate and try to help the team win in any possible way.’’