Smith-Njigba on cusp of Seahawks receptions record

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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 06: Tyler Lockett #16 and Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 of the Seattle Seahawks react after a fourth quarter touchdown against the New York Giants at Lumen Field on October 06, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. ( Rio Giancarlo / Getty Images)

RENTON, Wash. - Jaxon Smith-Njigba is on the verge of breaking Tyler Lockett's single-season receptions record in what could be Lockett's last game as a member of the Seattle Seahawks.

Smith-Njigba is four receptions shy of reaching 100 receptions for the season, which would tie Lockett's franchise record from the 2020 season. Smith-Njigba learned of the possibility from Lockett himself, who told him he hopes he breaks his record.

"That's the first time I actually heard it, honestly, is when he came up to me about two weeks ago, and he was like, 'hey, man, I think you're gonna break my record. I hope you break my record.' And, and I was like, 'Oh, really?' And, you know, that's kind of how it went. Special moment, you know. Hopefully, you know, we get it, but certainly not gonna press about it," Smith-Njigba said.

Smith-Njigba already became just the 10th different receiver in team history to have a 1,000-yard season for the Seahawks. Three of the ten to do so are currently on Seattle's roster with Smith-Njigba, Lockett and DK Metcalf each accomplishing the feat.

But no one in team history has had more receptions than Lockett's 100 from four years ago. Bobby Engram and Doug Baldwin had previously been tied for the franchise record with 94 before Lockett's standout campaign.

"I think at the end of the day, I wanted to be able to support him ever since Jax became part of the team," Lockett said on Thursday. "Obviously, I think, when you have records, there's a part of you where you might not want that record to be broken or whatever, but records are meant to be broken."

The fact Smith-Njigba could break the record in Lockett's last game in Seattle is rather poignant. Lockett has been a staple of the Seahawks for the last 10 seasons and will unquestionably be one of the most productive receivers that's ever played in Seattle. However, a looming salary cap number of nearly $31 million for next season makes it difficult to find a way for him to remain with the team beyond this season.

Lockett is second to Steve Largent in career receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns with the Seahawks.

"He's meant everything to me, man," Smith-Bjigba said of Lockett. "You know to come in to have Tyler Lockett and just, you know, one, a great person and the ultimate teammate, ultimate competitor. You know, I couldn't have walked into a better situation. He's a guy that you know I love, and I'm just happy you know that we both wear the same jersey."

When asked if he could envision not having Lockett as a teammate next season, Smith-Njigba was dismayed by the suggestion.

"No, I can't, man," he said. "I can't imagine the receiver room and doing it without T-Lock. You know, I tell him, you know, I think he's still got a lot left in the tank, so hopefully, you know, we'll be teammates for a longer period of time."

Lockett knows it's a possibility. He acknowledged that it's a topic he's thought of through recent weeks as the season nears its end.

"Yeah, I mean, it went through my mind that the Vikings could have been my last home game here. It went through my mind that maybe this could be my last Thursday practice or my last Friday practice, you know, with being part of the team, but, again, those conversations are going to be had at the end of the season. As of right now, you know, I continue to keep on playing no matter what," Lockett said.

Lockett did say he has every intention of playing next season. Whether that's with the Seahawks or not isn't his decision.

"I'm not the GM, buddy, so I can't make that decision," Lockett said with a smile.

"I didn't know if I was going to be able to come back for this season, because sometimes with a new team comes a new coach and a new atmosphere, new identity, new everything, so the fact that they brought me back, that spoke a lot of volumes and stuff like that.

"Obviously, there's things that happens within the business where they have to be able to make their decisions on what they want to do and how they want to go about things. I think for me, like, I've done what I've wanted to be able to do as far as be that player that wants to be able to stand on love and stand on support, stand on being able to be a team player."

Lockett is on pace to have his lowest receiving totals since at least 2017 in various categories. He has 47 receptions for 572 yards and just two touchdowns this season. That dip has come from Smith-Njigba getting more prominently featured in Seattle's offense.

"I think my biggest contribution to this team has just been sacrifice," Lockett said. "I think the whole season has been sacrifice, and it's sacrifice for the betterment of the team. It's sacrifice for the betterment of the other players. It's sacrifice for a lot of different stuff, you know. I think that's really been the whole portion of myself. So, yeah, it sucks for me as a player when you hear people say, ‘oh, he's too old or he's washed or he's not the same type of player.’ I promise you if you go watch the film, that's not the case, you know what I'm saying? That's just the truth.

"But I understand that with sacrifice does come those conversations. It does come these opinions and different types of theories so I'm cool with being able to stand on that because a lot of people in this organization and a lot of people whether it's the players or the coaches understand the sacrifice that I made to try to make this team be the best team possible that they could be."

What is clear is that it seems impossible for Seattle to return all three receivers to the roster next season. Smith-Njigba is the emerging young star that definitely won't be going anywhere. But the contracts of Lockett and Metcalf make them both possible candidates to be on the move this offseason. Lockett being the oldest of the group, with one year left on his contract, in a season where his production has dipped, makes him the most likely candidate to move on.

If it does come to pass, Lockett holds no resentment.

"Like to me there's no hostility," Lockett said. There's no, like, nothing. There's always love on my side of things and even though things may not have worked out with me on the field, I've won at so many other things in life that I really thank God for even putting me in a place to win like this."

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