DK Metcalf details the reasons behind asking for a trade from the Seattle Seahawks for a fresh start

Star wide receiver DK Metcalf left the Seahawks, realizing that the comraderies he once shared with the players from his era in the team was slowly phasing away.

DK Metcalf details the reasons behind asking for a trade from the Seattle Seahawks for a fresh start

DK Metcalf (Image via IMAGO)

Murmurs were floating around the NFL about DK Metcalf possibly looking for a way out of the Seattle Seahawks following a difficult year in the Pacific Northwest. The star wide receiver dropped a bomb by requesting a trade, but the consensus was that the Steelers would end up paying him handsome money.

Metcalf’s wish came to fruition. The Seahawks traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Everyone wondered what went wrong that Metcalf even reconsider leaving the Seahawks. The 27-year-old kept his mouth shut until now.

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During a recent appearance on the Get Got Pod with Marshawn Lynch and Michael Robinson, Metcalf retraced when he began to feel distant from the rest of the roster in the Seahawks building.

We were the only six people left from that 2019 team, the team that felt that real camaraderie in the building.

DK Metcalf said

Metcalf highlighted the Seahawks’ transition period, switching from veteran Pete Carroll to newcomer Mike Macdonald after Carroll stepped down as the head coach following the 2023 season.

When you start switching out the OCs [offensive coordinator], switching out head coaches, you start getting different messages from what you’re used to. The Pete [Carroll] messages were gone. So now it was just six outsiders trying to get a new message.

DK Metcalf added

The new brass brought in players suited to their style of play. It created a distance between the older guards like Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Geno Smith, and a few others and the newer faces. The connection that they once shared slowly faded away as time progressed.

Grass is greener on the other side.

DK Metcalf said

Metcalf and the others tried their best to cooperate with the new coaches

Change is never easy to accept or get acclimatized to. The Seahawks owners felt it was time for a change in the coaching department because Carroll was not getting any younger. So, when they replaced the Super Bowl winner, a section of the previous coordinators also left the building with him, creating new vacancies.

DK Metcalf details the reasons behind asking for a trade from the Seattle Seahawks for a fresh start
DK Metcalf (Image via IMAGO)

The Seahawks appointed Ryan Grubb as their offensive coordinator. Grubb called shots for the Washington team that played in the CFP final in 2023. Needless to add, it wasn’t an easy jump from the college game to the NFL for the first time for Grubb.

Metcalf and the other receivers caught a whiff and tried their best to get him up to speed. They devised measures on how to beat certain defenders on the group chat. However, it did not turn out so well when they played against divisional foes, the San Francisco 49ers.

Despite the premeditated plan to run past the defensive backs on third down when they least suspect it. Grubb didn’t call it, bringing out the angry Metcalf.

I come to the sideline like, ‘Let me just get the headset.’… That was the last week I and Lock did that; that was the last week we did any extra game-planning for them.

DK Metcalf said

Even though both the Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams boasted identical 10-7 records, their head-to-head record sent the Rams to the playoffs. Grubb didn’t return as the OC, and the Seahawks appointed Klint Kubiak.

The Seahawks struggled against the 49ers during Metcalf’s time. He lost eight times against Kyle Shanahan’s men and tasted victory only on three occasions.

Both Lockett and Smith followed Metcalf’s example to leave the team. The veteran receiver entered free agency after a decade with the team from the capital. Smith linked up with Carroll at the Las Vegas Raiders to become their starter.

The Seahawks selected Metcalf, a product of Ole Miss, in the second round of the 2019 draft. He appeared in a total of 97 games, contributing 498 receptions for 6324 receiving yards and 48 touchdowns. 2020 was his best year, with 83 receptions for 1303 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Metcalf signed a five-year, $150 million contract (Spotrac) with the Pittsburgh Steelers after leaving the Seahawks, who received sixth and seventh-round picks in return through the trade.

Related: Najee Harris takes a jibe at former Steelers teammate Justin Fields after signing with the Chargers: “Didn’t know anything”