Tyler Lockett wants to see Russell Wilson receive a warm reception when he returns to Lumen Field Monday night to face the Seattle Seahawks for the first time as the new Denver Broncos quarterback.
"I have no idea because I can't control what anybody else says or what anybody else does," Lockett said of the kind of reaction Wilson will receive.
"But I know that when I see him, I'll go give him a hug, talk to him ... wish him good luck not only in this game but for the rest of this season and for the rest of his career as we continue to talk outside of football and stuff like that. But Russ has done so much for this community."
Wilson spent 10 seasons with the Seahawks before they traded him to the Broncos in March.
"At the end of the day, I get it -- it's football, it's competitive," said Lockett, who spent his first seven NFL seasons with Wilson and is now replacing him as Seattle's offensive captain. "You never want to see people leave, but you've got to understand that everybody has to do what's best for them, and that's what you have to be able to understand about this life is you have to cheer people on. You can't get mad that people go to another team and this, this and this. We're fans, right? So we learn it the hard way. I'm a fan when it comes to the NBA. I get mad when people leave because I want them to stay on the same team, right?
"But at the end of the day, you've got to be able to separate the man from the player and you've got to understand that everybody's trying to do what's best for them and all you can do is hope that they win and cheer for them to win. So that's really how I feel about it. I think that Seattle should cheer him on for everything that he's done -- help bring a Super Bowl to this community, all that different type of stuff. He's an amazing guy."