Getty The Seahawks face a decision on DK Metcalf's future.
Unless an extension is reached this offseason, Seattle Seahawks star receiver DK Metcalf will head into 2022 in the final year of his contract. Despite Metcalf seeking a long-term deal, The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta reported that there are “no indications” that Metcalf will holdout during offseason workouts.
“Receiver DK Metcalf is expected to be among those participating [in voluntary workouts],” Condotta detailed on April 15, 2022. “There has been much discussion of Metcalf’s future with the team now that he is eligible for a contract extension. But there are no indications that he would not show up for the program, as some players aiming for new deals have done.”
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Carroll on Metcalf: ‘There’s No Way I Could Imagine Playing Without Him’
Publicly, the Seahawks have maintained their desire to retain Metcalf for the long haul. Metcalf has done the same attempting to shoot down trade rumors on multiple occasions. With the average annual salaries for star receivers reaching $30 million, it will be worth watching to see if the two sides will be able to reach an agreement.
During the NFL owners meetings, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll admitted there is “no way” he could imagine Metcalf playing elsewhere. Carroll also indicated that the Seahawks and Metcalf have yet to engage in serious discussions about a contract extension.
“We intend for him to be with us,” Carroll explained during a March 29 press conference. “We’d love to figure that out, so we’re in a normal kind of mode this time of year. We’re not to that topic [contract extension] yet specifically because we’ve got so many other things going on, but we’d love to have him. There’s no way I could imagine playing without him.”
DK: ‘It’s Time for Me to Step Up & Be a Leader’
Metcalf is not talking like a player with one foot out of the door. During a lengthy interview with Showtime’s Kevin Garnett, Metcalf opened up about his reaction to the Seahawks moving on from both Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner this offseason. Despite expressing his disappointment, Metcalf indicated that the roster moves have put pressure on him to step up as the team’s leader.
“I just finished year three, going into year four and I think it’s time for me to step up and be a leader,” Metcalf explained during a March 25 interview on “KG Certified.” “It’s my time in Seattle now. That’s the way I look at it.”
Despite the optimism, Seahawks general manager John Schneider revealed there is a bit of sticker shock when it comes to the rising price for NFL receivers. This was fast-tracked this offseason by Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill both signing mega-extensions after being traded.
“I was talking to my buddies about it the other night and we were like, ‘Holy s***, man,’” Schneider told The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar on March 29. “It is what it is now, right? This is the market. We’ll get to that when we get to it. There is a bit of ‘Whoa,’ then you have to figure out, ‘OK, where’s the cap going? What is it going to look like? How do you build your team?’ We do that every day.”