Tyler Lockett didn\u2019t have to do it.<\/p>\n
The relationship between players and the media is inherently transactional. Both parties have their jobs to do. Some athletes enjoy talking to the media; others do it to avoid fines.<\/p>\n
So when Lockett moved to his second NFL city after spending his entire career with the Seattle Seahawks since 2015, he could have easily kept his distance. But he made a point to start things off on the right foot with his new community and, notably, with the people who will be covering this next chapter of his career.<\/p>\n
Before his first press conference as a member of the Tennessee Titans, he made sure to shake hands with every media member in attendance.<\/p>\n
Good guy alert \ud83d\udea8@TDLockett12<\/a> shook hands with all the media in the room before his presser pic.twitter.com\/IIponlKd4d<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Tennessee Titans (@Titans) May 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI feel like, you know, y\u2019all are just as much as family as everybody that\u2019s gonna be teammates,\u201d Lockett said. \u201cSo, you gotta get to know the coaches, get to know the media. You guys are going to be the ones writing stories about us, whether it\u2019s good or bad. And who knows? Sometimes, doing that handshake, you might be a little more lenient. But either way, it\u2019s great to meet y\u2019all. Obviously, I\u2019m gonna learn new names, learn new faces, but excited just to do some media y\u2019all.\u201d<\/p>\n Lockett is trying to set the tone early with a local beat that\u2019s had its clashes with Titans star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons<\/a>. It\u2019s also the same beat that prompted head coach Brian Callahan to tell a reporter to shove a question about his team being soft up their ass<\/a>. But Lockett\u2019s taking a different approach.<\/p>\n It might not always be this way, but this gesture will likely earn him some early brownie points.<\/p>\n And it seemingly did with not just the local beat, but the national media, too.<\/p>\n \u201cHe gets it. He understands there\u2019s a symbiosis to this,\u201d Pro Football Talk\u2019s Mike Florio said. \u201cWe\u2019re not trying to attack, for the most part. We\u2019re not trying to tear down, for the most part. The people who cover a team need information. And there\u2019s information that can be supplied that does not compromise the strategic interests of the team; tell that to Bill Belichick. But I think a lot of other people like Tyler Lockett understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy mind is blown. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve heard \u2014 I don\u2019t know about you \u2014 but I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve heard 10 athletes say that in the time I\u2019ve been covering pro sports,\u201d Michael Holley added. \u201cAs a matter of fact, I tell people who are interested in this business, I said, \u2018Get used to it.\u2019 If you\u2019re covering high school sports, the answer to your question is usually yes. When you ask for things, it\u2019s usually \u2018yes,\u2019 about 100 percent of the time in high school. In college, it\u2019s \u2018yes\u2019 about 60-65 percent of the time. And in the pros, it\u2019s \u2018no\u2019 about 80 percent of the time.<\/p>\n \u201cMost pro athletes don\u2019t look at it that way,\u201d Holley adds. \u201cThat\u2019s refreshing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Lockett didn\u2019t have to go out of his way, and yet he made a simple choice that said a lot.<\/p>\n It\u2019s refreshing and might just be what people remember when things get tough.<\/p>\n \t