Pete Carroll: Seahawks ‘to do everything we can’ to get a new DK Metcalf deal done soon
The Seahawks let Russell Wilson go.
They don’t sound like they are going to let DK Metcalf go — though after the last few weeks sounds don’t mean what they used to, eh?
Coach Pete Carroll was on Seattle’s KJR-FM radio Tuesday afternoon. Co-host Dick Fain asked Carroll: “How great will the effort be to lock DK up to a long-term deal prior to the season?”
The star wide receiver is entering the final year of his rookie contract he signed in 2019 as a second-round draft choice by Seattle. That was after the Seahawks traded with New England back into the bottom of the second round to select Metcalf.
“It’s really important to us. We love him, you know,” Carroll said Tuesday on KJR radio. “He’s such a great, competitive kid, and he’s got so much upside. Maybe will go down as one of the great draft picks we ever had here. I thought we were SO fortunate to get him where we got him, the bottom of (round) two. How could that ever have happened?
“He’s proved why so many teams missed out, because he’s a great player.
“So we are going to do everything we can to get it done.”
The freakishly tall, muscular and fast physical marvel from Mississippi set a Seattle record with 1,303 yards receiving and made the Pro Bowl in his second season of 2020.
Last season he emerged through frustrations of not getting the ball often enough, through personal-foul penalties, an ejection at Green Bay adjusting to a new play caller — and to his trigger man Wilson missing a month because of surgery on his trigger finger. Metcalf caught 12 touchdown passes. That was his career high, to go with 75 catches and 967 yards.
He had a career-high three touchdowns Jan. 2 in Seattle’s rout of Detroit. He said after that game “of course” he wants a new Seahawks contract this offseason.
He flashed a huge smile Jan. 6.
“I’m not trying to leave,” he said then.
How much might a new deal cost the Seahawks?
How about $20-25 million per year?
That’s how much the five highest NFL salaries for wide receivers start at, for Amari Cooper of the Browns, Mike Williams and Keenan Allen of the Chargers, DeAndre Hopkins of the Cardinals (an average of $27.25 million per year) and Davante Adams of the Raiders ($28 million per year).
Then Wednesday, Tyreek Hill reportedly agreed to a three-year, $75 million contract with Miami, after the Kansas City Chiefs traded Hill to the Dolphins.
Metcalf is at least four years younger than each of those top-six paid wide receivers.
The 24-year-old Metcalf has 216 catches and 29 touchdowns through three NFL seasons with the Seahawks. He had foot surgery early this offseason to remove a screw inserted there in a previous procedure. The foot pain left him unable to practice between playing games throughout 2021.
All his catches and games so far in the league have been with Wilson as his quarterback — and in effect, his big brother. Metcalf trained in Mexico and California in offseasons with Wilson. Wilson taught Metcalf how to swim while they were in Mexico a couple years ago.
Now Wilson and his $37 million salary-cap charge for 2022 is gone, to Denver. That makes Metcalf more affordable to Seattle at top-of-the-market prices than he’s ever been.
Now it appears Metcalf is going to be catching passes from Drew Lock (salary cap charge for 2022: $1.45 million). The Seahawks acquired Lock from the Broncos as part of the mammoth trade of Wilson to Denver two weeks ago. You know, the trade Carroll said this month the Seahawks had “no intention” of making because they were “not shopping” Wilson.
That was while general manager John Schneider was secretly meeting with Broncos GM George Paton, discussing then finalizing the Wilson trade details.
It appears Metcalf is already reaching out to bond with Lock.
Lock said Monday one of the first calls he got from the Seahawks following the Wilson trade was from Metcalf. His new receiver called Lock while he at the Denver airport to fly to Seattle this month.
Metcalf’s teammate Tyler Lockett also called Lock this month.
“I actually was in line, in security coming here to try to find a place to live and DK started calling me,” Lock said. “(I) answered the phone, and we had a good conversation. Obviously, there’s things with him from last year that he’s dealing with right now, and at an advantageous time for all of us, we will without a doubt, get together and get this thing rolling.
“But it’s been cool to be able to get, you know, reached out from those two guys. Those are two big names in the wide receiver world, and I’m really excited to be able to work with both of them.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
