Seahawks Telling Teams D.K. Metcalf Isn’t Available

According to ESPN’s longtime Jets beat reporter Rich Cimini, the Seattle Seahawks are telling inquiring teams that WR D.K. Metcalf is not available via trade. 

ESPN national reporter Jeremy Fowler adds that Metcalf’s name keeps coming up in trade rumors around the league, however. 

“This is a name that’s buzzing in league circles. No guarantee that anything happens here,” Fowler said Sunday on SportsCenter, via Bleacher Report’s Tyler Conway. “I’m told that Metcalf has gotten indications, informally from the team, that he’s not going to be traded. Seattle has said publicly they have no intention to trade him. But the execs I talk to keep bringing him up that maybe they would either be willing to move on at the right price or that Metcalf would welcome a change. So, something is going on here; it’s just hard to figure out what. But he’s got one year left on his rookie deal. He would need a new contract as part of a trade. That’s the tricky part.”

Metcalf is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is due for a lucrative extension. The Seahawks have said a new deal is a priority for them and they have “no intention” of trading Metcalf. 

Of course, they also said the same thing about QB Russell Wilson, and the extension comments were before new deals for Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill and Raiders WR Davante Adams reset the market at the wide receiver position. 

Those deals figure to have a dramatic impact on Metcalf’s asking price and it’s led to questions about whether a team that wants to be a run-first offense will be willing to pay up. 

Metcalf, 24, is a former second-round pick by the Seahawks in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Ole Miss. Seattle traded up to select him and exchanged the No. 77 and No. 118 picks for him.

He signed a four-year, $4,586,054 rookie contract including an $1,355,312 signing bonus with the Seahawks and is set to earn a base salary of $3,986,000 in 2022. 

In 2021, Metcalf appeared in 17 games for the Seahawks and recorded 75 receptions for 967 yards (12.9 YPC) and 12 touchdowns. 

We’ll have more on Metcalf as the news is available.