Seattle Star Receiver On The Trading Block

Super Bowl LIX is over, the Combine is underway, free agency starts in two weeks, followed by the draft near the end of April.  All of that means teams are looking to better position themselves heading into the new season.  One of the Seahawks longer tenured (and most popular) player's days in Seattle may be done.

The rumor mill has been churning regarding the future of wide receiver DK Metcalf.  Metcalf, who was a second round draft pick in 2019, has three 1,000 yard seasons under his belt and has never had a campaign with less than 900.  He is two shy of 50 touchdowns for his Seahawk career with an impressive 14.4 average yards per catch.

The 6'4" target signed a new three year deal with the team before the start of the 2023 season worth $72 million overall.  This season, Metcalf is owed a base salary of just over $198 million and a signing bonus of $9.875 million.  That's a total cap charge of almost $32 million for a team that is effectively around $10 million over the salary cap right now.

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That may explain why the Seahawks have been fielding phone calls regarding the five year veteran whose deal is the thirteenth highest among all wide receivers in the league.  Here is a look at the teams rumored to have interest in acquiring Metcalf.

The Green Bay Packers

This one has been hot and cold.  Some may remember Seahawk GM John Schneider was with the Packers before coming west.  He still has connections in Green Bay and the Packers are looking for an upgrade at the position after their passing game suffered down the stretch.

Potential talks have centered around one of the Pack's two young receivers (Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks) and possibly a first round pick.  It's also been mentioned that the Packers are not/no longer interested in acquiring Metcalf.

The Las Vegas Raiders

All of the attention in 'Sin City' this off-season has been around how much sway does minority owner Tom Brady have in decision making.  Their new Head Coach has history with Metcalf, drafting him back in 2019.  The ageless wonder, Pete Carroll is at the helm of the Raiders and in charge of changing the culture.  They have the second most cap space in the league and are rumored to be aggressively searching for a new QB (Aaron Rodgers?).  The deal makes sense if they can upgrade their signal caller, but I doubt the Raiders would give up their first round pick to the Seahawks.

The Kansas City Chiefs

Their receiving woes were on full display at Super Bowl LIX.  The defending AFC Champions famously passed on Metcalf in the 2019 draft but could sure use him now.  It would most likely take the Chiefs first rounder (31st overall) and a pre-trade agreement with Metcalf to restructure his contract to add more years.  This seems the least likely option, but it would still make sense for both teams.

The New England Patriots/Washington Commanders

I'm lumping both of these teams here even though their rookie quarterbacks had two very different seasons.  Both squads need an impact receiver to help their franchise players develop.  Commaders QB Jayden Daniels won rookie of the year with an average receiver corps, while Patriots QB Drake Maye struggled early, but showed real signs of progress late season.  I doubt the Patriots will give up a top ten pick, but the Commanders might be talked into parting with the 29th.