This off-season as been one of the weirdest ones that I can ever remember as a Seattle Seahawk fan. They have made a number of moves through free agency that I think should get fans pretty excited, but I get a sense that, for many, these moves have been reflected upon as ho-hum-ish.

They also made a trade for one of the better veteran pass blocking guards in the league to which the cost was nothing more than a 5th round pick, and weirdly, I’ve actually seen some argue on Twitter that the move wasn’t an upgrade from the turnstile blocker that had been at left guard last year (never reads the comments on Twitter).

This weird alleged rift between Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll has kept a dark cloud over this team for the last two months. In case you have been living in a hippy surf commune on the North East corner of Kauai for the past sever months without any internet (okay, now I’m jealous), let me sum up the weirdness of this feud.

Apparently, Russ, through his agent and Colin Cowherd, doesn’t want to play for Pete anymore because Pete likes a balanced offense that doesn’t turn the ball over, and now Russ wants to be a Chicago Bear. That’s pretty much the long and short of it.

Weird right? Yeah, I’d run back to that Hawaiian North shore nudist colony too and suck on dried out noni fruit as well, if only I could drop thirty pounds.

Because of all this stuff, many Seahawk fans have been thrown into this strange nebula that is part denial, part gloom, and part f**k it all let’s rebuild. I’m sure many casual fans of the team are now distancing themselves into becoming either more Mariner fans or just giving up on sports in general in exchange for watching all the Marvel films in timeline order on Disyney+, like I am (Iron Man 3 is vastly underrated stuff).

For my part, I’m dug in. I’ve been a diehard Seahawk fan for decades, and have experienced all the highs and lows. I’ve seen much worse from this organization than a power struggle between a top five-ish quarterback and a hall of fame-ish head coach. I’ve experienced Ken Behring and Dan McGuire.

Bring. It. On.

My skin is thick as the leather on Conan The Barbarian’s belt strap when it comes to the Seattle Seahawks and I am actually intrigued what might lay ahead for Russ and the team, whether he stays or is dealt. One thing that I know for certain is that, if he is eventually dealt, it will be for an absolute monster haul of picks and players, and the Seattle Seahawks won’t deal him unless they know for certain they have an appropriate replacement at quarterback. Either way, Seattle should be fine, I think.

One thing that I know for certain is that when news broke yesterday about the Seattle Seahawks extending Tyler Lockett for four more years, that made me really happy. Like, giddy happy.

Tyler has always been one of my favorite Seahawks under Pete Carroll, and he has been nothing but productive ever since his rookie year. On top of being a highly skilled route runner with clutch hands and sneaky speed, he seems to be one of the genuinely nicest dudes on the planet. His teammates love him, and so do countless fans.

In a weird 2020 season where we saw the Seattle offense put up record numbers in scoring and yardage only to drastically taper off in the second half of the season, we could sense frustration from some of the offensive players, and I don’t think Tyler was immune to that. In fact, in post game interviews, I think he was fairly frank in his assessments that defenses had simply figured Seattle out.

For me, I think it’s the way that he delivered that frankness that is worth noting. He didn’t sugarcoat the truth, but he didn’t erupt in anger either, or cast blame. He kept it all very real, and simple for us all.

I think Tyler Lockett is a hugely underrated member of the Seattle Seahawks. On top of the countless clutch moments that he has helped bail out his team (and perhaps his quarterback) on the field, he has perhaps been an even greater teammate and leader. He volunteered in an interview last season that he was seriously contemplating sitting out 2020 because of Covid, but decided to play because he loves his teammates and he plays the game for them.

My guess is that, in a nutshell, is what makes Tyler Lockett a Pete Carroll favorite. He is “all in” not for himself, or perhaps even the game. He’s “all in” for his team.

I love that. That’s a player that you want around and want to build off of. Absolutely.

And I love that he will now likely retire a Seahawk.

Go Hawks.