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Seattle is often referred to as the Emerald City. It is the largest city in Washington, which is known as the Evergreen State. Yet despite these appropriate nicknames, there are players who think the grass could be greener somewhere else. Former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf is one such player, and he quite literally said as much.
Back in March, Metcalf wanted out of Seattle and the Seahawks organization fulfilled his request by trading him to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Shortly after landing in the Steel City, Metcalf was a guest on Marshawn Lynch and Michael Robinson's Da Get Got Pod back where he discussed his exit from Seattle. During his appearance on the show, Metcalf made some comments I'm sure he's wishing he could take back right about now. The interaction in question can be seen here, but Metcalf's comments can be read below:
With the Steelers' season officially over following their humiliating blowout home loss to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round, it's time to see just how green Metcalf's new lawn ended up being. In 2025, Metcalf finished with 59 receptions for 850 yards and six touchdowns. His yardage total was the lowest of his career, and his 59 receptions were only one more than his career-low of 58 from his rookie season. He did score one more touchdown this year than in 2024 with Seattle, so I guess there is a solid patch on his lawn. However, his 850 yards did lead the Steelers by far. Even with two games missed (more on that later) he had nearly double that of the next two best Pittsburgh receiving leaders, running back Kenneth Gainwell and tight end Pat Freiermuth who both had 486 yards each.
Keep this in mind: if we look at Steelers wide receivers exclusively, taking out running backs and tight ends, this Pittsburgh position group combined for 1,716 yards. Meanwhile, Seattle's Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the league with 1,793 yards.
Metcalf was Pittsburgh's undisputed No. 1 receiver during the regular season, but he certainly didn't look the part on Monday night. Against the Texans, Metcalf did lead the team with 42 yards, but on only two receptions out of five targets, which included this disastrous drop.
Well, at least DK Metcalf got the massive payday he was looking for. The Seahawks weren't going to give him the small fortune he wanted, but Pittsburgh was more than willing to graciously give him a four-year, $132 million dollar contract to make him th.... wait a second... oh that's right, he's probably not going to end up with the majority of that money after all.
Remember those two games I mentioned that he missed? Turns out they were a big deal for his wallet. Metcalf was suspended for Weeks 17 and 18 by the league for conduct detrimental following his unfortunate interaction with a fan during Pittsburgh's Week 16 win over the Detroit Lions. Metcalf had a clause in his contract stipulating if he missed any time away from the team due to a suspension from the league or organization, it would void the $45 million in guaranteed money remaining on his contract. He can still earn it back, in theory, but his future in Pittsburgh has to be considered "up in the air" at best.
On Tuesday morning after the loss to Houston, head coach Mike Tomlin announced he was stepping down as head coach after an unprecedented 19-year run with the team. The Steelers will be looking for a new head coach for only the fourth time since 1969, and the organization may decide they simply want to blow everything up to begin a long-overdue rebuild. That means trading away any viable assets, including a veteran wide receiver with a suddenly manageable contract.
Through all of this, I cannot help but wonder what things might have looked like had Metcalf decided he wanted to remain in Seattle. The Seahawks certainly did not want to trade him. In fact, he was so ingrained in their plans for 2025 that Mike Macdonald specifically asked every candidate he interviewed for offensive coordinator how they intended to utilize Metcalf. Part of why the Seahawks ending up hiring Klint Kubiak was because he apparently had the best answer to this question.
Is there a timeline or alternate reality where the historic season Jaxon Smith-Njigba accomplished was actually meant for DK Metcalf to enjoy? We will never know. But what I do know is there is a high likelihood a certain someone else is also wondering the same thing. Turns out the grass in the Evergreen State is still fairly lush.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Grass was not greener for former Seahawks WR DK Metcalf with Steelers
Continue reading...
Back in March, Metcalf wanted out of Seattle and the Seahawks organization fulfilled his request by trading him to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Shortly after landing in the Steel City, Metcalf was a guest on Marshawn Lynch and Michael Robinson's Da Get Got Pod back where he discussed his exit from Seattle. During his appearance on the show, Metcalf made some comments I'm sure he's wishing he could take back right about now. The interaction in question can be seen here, but Metcalf's comments can be read below:
With the Steelers' season officially over following their humiliating blowout home loss to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round, it's time to see just how green Metcalf's new lawn ended up being. In 2025, Metcalf finished with 59 receptions for 850 yards and six touchdowns. His yardage total was the lowest of his career, and his 59 receptions were only one more than his career-low of 58 from his rookie season. He did score one more touchdown this year than in 2024 with Seattle, so I guess there is a solid patch on his lawn. However, his 850 yards did lead the Steelers by far. Even with two games missed (more on that later) he had nearly double that of the next two best Pittsburgh receiving leaders, running back Kenneth Gainwell and tight end Pat Freiermuth who both had 486 yards each.
Keep this in mind: if we look at Steelers wide receivers exclusively, taking out running backs and tight ends, this Pittsburgh position group combined for 1,716 yards. Meanwhile, Seattle's Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the league with 1,793 yards.
Metcalf was Pittsburgh's undisputed No. 1 receiver during the regular season, but he certainly didn't look the part on Monday night. Against the Texans, Metcalf did lead the team with 42 yards, but on only two receptions out of five targets, which included this disastrous drop.
Well, at least DK Metcalf got the massive payday he was looking for. The Seahawks weren't going to give him the small fortune he wanted, but Pittsburgh was more than willing to graciously give him a four-year, $132 million dollar contract to make him th.... wait a second... oh that's right, he's probably not going to end up with the majority of that money after all.
Remember those two games I mentioned that he missed? Turns out they were a big deal for his wallet. Metcalf was suspended for Weeks 17 and 18 by the league for conduct detrimental following his unfortunate interaction with a fan during Pittsburgh's Week 16 win over the Detroit Lions. Metcalf had a clause in his contract stipulating if he missed any time away from the team due to a suspension from the league or organization, it would void the $45 million in guaranteed money remaining on his contract. He can still earn it back, in theory, but his future in Pittsburgh has to be considered "up in the air" at best.
On Tuesday morning after the loss to Houston, head coach Mike Tomlin announced he was stepping down as head coach after an unprecedented 19-year run with the team. The Steelers will be looking for a new head coach for only the fourth time since 1969, and the organization may decide they simply want to blow everything up to begin a long-overdue rebuild. That means trading away any viable assets, including a veteran wide receiver with a suddenly manageable contract.
Through all of this, I cannot help but wonder what things might have looked like had Metcalf decided he wanted to remain in Seattle. The Seahawks certainly did not want to trade him. In fact, he was so ingrained in their plans for 2025 that Mike Macdonald specifically asked every candidate he interviewed for offensive coordinator how they intended to utilize Metcalf. Part of why the Seahawks ending up hiring Klint Kubiak was because he apparently had the best answer to this question.
Is there a timeline or alternate reality where the historic season Jaxon Smith-Njigba accomplished was actually meant for DK Metcalf to enjoy? We will never know. But what I do know is there is a high likelihood a certain someone else is also wondering the same thing. Turns out the grass in the Evergreen State is still fairly lush.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Grass was not greener for former Seahawks WR DK Metcalf with Steelers
Continue reading...
