Ricardo Quantaye Lockette was born on May 21, 1986, in Albany, Georgia, to Earl and Felita Lockette. Growing up, Lockette played Little League football, where he was coached by his father. Lockette attended Monroe Comprehensive High School in Albany, where he played football and ran track and field. He signed a letter of intent to play football for the Auburn Tigers, but did not attend the university after a low SAT score.

Lockette attended Wallace Community College for one year, where he finished tenth nationally in the 400 meter dash. After he took a year off to train for the Olympics, Lockette transferred to Fort Valley State University. Lockette won the NCAA Division II 200-meter dash in 2008 in a personal record of 20.63 seconds; he ran the 100-meter dash in 10.28 seconds. Tyree Price, Lockette’s track coach at Fort Valley State, has stated that, had he stuck with track, he would have gone to the Olympic trials. In 2010, for the Fort Valley State Wildcats football team, Lockette served as a wide receiver and a kickoff returner, and finished with 23 receptions for 262 yards and one touchdown. After the season, Lockette was invited to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine.

Lockette tied for the third-fastest 40-yard dash (4.37 seconds) at the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine. Lockette was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent following the end of the NFL lockout in 2011. He was released on September 3, and re-signed to the Seahawks’ practice squad the following day. On December 14, 2011, Lockette was promoted to active 53-man Seattle Seahawks’ roster.

Lockette made a critical 44-yard reception in a close loss to division rival San Francisco 49ers on December 24, 2011, as well as a 61-yard touchdown grab in an overtime loss to another rival, the Arizona Cardinals, on January 1, 2012.

Lockette was signed to the San Francisco 49ers practice squad on September 24, 2012. On August 22, 2013, he was released by the 49ers to make room on the roster for newly signed quarterback Seneca Wallace. On September 1, 2013, Lockette was signed by the Chicago Bears to the practice squad. He was waived by the team on October 21.

Lockette returned to the Seahawks on October 22, 2013. He became a special teams player during his second stint with the Seattle Seahawks. Lockette won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seahawks on February 2, 2014, where he had one catch for 19 yards in the 43–8 win over the Denver Broncos. In Super Bowl XLIX, Lockette had 3 catches for 59 yards, but the Seahawks lost 28–24 to the New England Patriots. He was the intended receiver on the Seahawks last offensive play as it was intercepted by Malcolm Butler. Seattle’s offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said afterwards in a post-game interview that Lockette “could have done a better job staying strong on the ball.”

Lockette was a frequent speaker at elementary schools in Albany in 2014. In 2016, Lockette was inducted into the Albany Sports Hall of Fame.

On March 9, 2015, the Seahawks stated they would not tender Lockette, thus making him an unrestricted free agent; however, he eventually re-signed.

While on punt coverage during a November 1, 2015 road game against the Dallas Cowboys, Lockette was concussed after a clean hit by Cowboys safety Jeff Heath with Lockette even stating that it was a “clean hit”. As Lockette was carted off the field, he raised his hand and gestured in the shape of an ‘L’ representing Seattle’s “Legion of Boom”. The next day, the Seahawks announced Lockette had suffered neck ligament damage that required season-ending surgery. Lockette announced his retirement on May 12, 2016, citing the 2015 injury as “50% of the reason.” While playing in the NFL, Lockette stood at 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm) and weighed 211 pounds (96 kg).