DK Metcalf Rumors: Seahawks 'Will Be Aggressive' in Trying to Do Contract This Summer
June 12, 2022
The Seattle Seahawks and DK Metcalf haven't made much progress on a new contract, but expect that to change soon.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the Seahawks are planning to be "aggressive" in extension talks with Metcalf over the summer after several months of minimal movement.
"The people I'm talking to believe that Seattle will be aggressive sometime this summer in trying to hammer out a deal," Fowler said Sunday on SportsCenter.
"This could be similar to Jamal Adams' situation last year. Different positions, but Adams missed some time in the offseason and then showed up to camp and sort of did one of those 'hold-ins' where you don't participate in anything. That pressed the issue and they eventually got something done.
"So, Metcalf could follow a similar path. Execs I talk to believe he's got a trade market, that teams have called or at least made some overtures to feel out whether he'd be available. Seattle has not really pressed that issue. They want to get something done with him long-term. It just depends on if they can get the right money."
Metcalf is heading into the final year of his rookie contract, which will pay him just under $4 million for the 2022 season. He's likely to multiply that figure by six or seven once he signs a new contract, with several wideout contracts this offseason topping $25 million annually in new money.
It's worth noting that most of those contracts—Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams and AJ Brown—came after a trade. The Seahawks held onto Metcalf through the 2022 NFL draft process but are in the midst of a retooling phase after trading Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos.
It's possible, if not likely, that Metcalf's per-game numbers take a hit with the downgrade from Wilson to Geno Smith, Drew Lock or a yet-to-be-acquired quarterback. Metcalf held out of the team's mandatory veteran minicamp last week.
“We’ve been through this for years, you know. And it’s a challenging time,” coach Pete Carroll told reporters. “We’ve had so many high-profile guys that have gone through this process, and how’s that worked out for us? We figured it out in time. And so (GM John Schneider) is on it, and he’s as experienced as you can get at handling this stuff, and DK’s got great representation, and DK is a heck of a kid.”
The longer the situation lingers, the likelier it is that Metcalf attempts to exert his leverage by sitting out in training camp—or, as Fowler notes, performing a "sit-in" to avoid daily fines for missing mandatory work.