Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett opened up about his mental health struggles, revealing that he nearly quit the NFL as a result of depression and anxiety.
Lockett, 29, posted a series of tweets wherein he admitted to playing through mental health issues during two of his seven years within the league. The three-time 1,000-yard receiver began the Twitter thread by writing, “Be real with yourself!” Lockett then went on to clarify how he tried to repair his mental health problems as he would a physical injury.
“2 years out of my 7 years within the NFL up to now I played through depression and anxiety and almost quit and had my best yr,” Lockett wrote. “I played through trauma one other yr and had my best yr. Moral of the story: Just keep going. You never know what’s waiting on the opposite side!
“Looking back now I’m so completely satisfied I kept going. I’m a robust minded person and when faced with mental health situations I attempted to rush up and fix it like if I got hurt and practice got treatment for a day and I’m good. But with mental health you’ve got to be real with yourself.”
Seattle Seahawks launch Mental Health Matters program
Lockett’s revelations come amid the Seahawks launching its Mental Health Matters program. Lockett finished the Twitter thread by saying his mindset modified when he realized it was hurting him despite getting him to where he’s now.
“It is easy to operate in life if you pass though your strengths. But these last couple of years I needed to live and depend on my weaknesses to get me through,” Lockett wrote. “I been more patient with myself than I’ve ever been. I needed to learn that my mindset wasn’t the one way.
“My mindset helped me and got me far however it also set me back.”
Lockett was drafted by Seattle within the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft and made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season. He played college football at Kansas State.
