Seattle Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf held out of coming to mandatory minicamp. If the team chooses to trade him, where might he go?
No, I don’t want Metcalf to be traded. But I didn’t want Frank Clark to be traded either. Clark was coming off three very good seasons as a defensive end for Seattle from 2016 through 2018 when his rookie deal was ending. Seattle and Clark couldn’t work out an extension and Seattle eventually traded him.
Yes, the Seahawks did franchise-tag Clark in the offseason before the 2019 season but this was only part of the deal to move Clark from Seattle to Kansas City. The Seahawks have missed Clark’s level of production ever since.
3 potential trades Seahawks could work involving DK Metcalf
There are other similarities between Clark and Metcalf too. Clark fell to the second round in 2015 and was picked number 63 overall. (Seattle chose Tyler Lockett in the same draft at pick 69.) Metcalf fell in the 2019 draft and ended up being chosen by Seattle at number 64 overall.
The reasons Clark and Metcalf should have been taken higher in the draft but weren’t are completely opposite. Clark had off-the-field concerns. Metcalf had none of that but had an injury issue and possibly was a poor route runner.
While with the Seahawks, Clark wasn’t a problem off the field. Metcalf has shown he can play every week and run any route required.
Still, both are similar with the issues they have at the end of their rookie deals: They want more money than maybe Seattle is wanting to give. Should and will DK Metcalf be traded? Probably not and hopefully not. Could he? Yes. And here are three teams the Seahawks could work out deals with.
Seahawks trade with Bears
In 2021, the Chicago Bears drafted the quarterback they hope will be their best in franchise history: Justin Fields. To be fair, Chicago hasn’t had the best run of quarterbacks in the last several decades. If Russell Wilson and Matt Hasselbeck were on previous Bears’ teams, they might be the best two quarterbacks in Chicago’s franchise history too.
But Fields needs help and a lot of it. Chicago’s offensive line is not good but his receivers are pretty awful. Even adding Metcalf doesn’t make the Bears division favorites, not by a long stretch. But adding the 24-year-old receiver to go with the 23-year-old quarterback does put the Bears offense in a much more favorable position in the next 5-7 seasons than it otherwise would be.
Because Fields still has at least three years left on his rookie contract, Chicago should have a bit of money to spend on Metcalf. Trading draft capital is one thing but if a team can’t afford Metcalf once they have him, what’s the point of trading for him? Chicago can afford to sign Metcalf to an extension.
I am not going to be unrealistic with what the Seahawks might get in return for Metcalf. When the Packers traded Davante Adams to the Raiders, Green Bay got two picks back in the 2022 draft. Teams want Metcalf but they also know he’s in the last year of his current deal so they aren’t going to mortgage the future for a receiver. That said, Seattle getting a first-rounder back is a must in any scenario.
Seahawks trade with Packers
The Green Bay Packers traded Davante Adams because Adams wanted a lot of money and didn’t seemingly want to play in Green Bay if Aaron Rodgers wasn’t throwing him footballs. That last part is important. Rodgers is 38 years old and Adams has years of success before him. If there is a chance that for many of those seasons he is playing with a sub-par quarterback then why sign a long-term extension?
Metcalf is different, though. First of all, Metcalf is five years younger than Adams and should therefore still be playing football in 2030 when Adams is not. Adams needs to do more with the relatively little time he has left than Metcalf who is still trying to show he can be a Hall of Fame player.
For the Packers, they are likely a championship-caliber team but one Achilles heel might be a lack of greatness at receiver. Aaron Rodgers has always been very good but the times he has struggled more than others are when he hasn’t had a great receiver to throw to. Metcalf gives Rodgers that great receiver.
I see this trade playing out for the Seahawks like it did for Green Bay when they traded Adams. Green Bay offers the Seahawks two picks in the 2023 draft. This would give the Seahawks three first-round choices next year and seven in the first three rounds. That amount of draft capital is a good way to get really good fast but also maintain that level of being a contender.
Seahawks trade with Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys could own the NFC East for the next few years. But that could also have been said for the last two decades and hasn’t happened. One problem that isn’t going away any time soon is that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones still thinks he knows how to build a team. Jones knows how to get a bit of talent but doesn’t know how to get the bread and butter players.
But one pressing issue Dallas has is they need a top-end receiver. The Cowboys traded Amari Cooper this offseason to the Browns. In return, Dallas only got a fifth-round choice back in return, for all intents and purposes. Jerry Jones and the Cowboys got fleeced. So why should the Seahawks not fleece Jones and Dallas some more.
Jones hasn’t won a Super Bowl since last century and he’s a big reason they haven’t. He obviously wants to win one where it looks like he did so because he was the GM and not because of the coaches of the team. DK Metcalf gives Jones a better offense to go with a good defense and might make Dallas Super Bowl-worthy.
If Jones knows that Dallas can acquire Metcalf, maybe he would be willing to outbid other teams and give Seattle Dallas’ next two first-round picks. This would give the Seahawks three first-round choices in 2023 and two first-round picks in 2024. While giving up Metcalf would hurt, the Seahawks should be able to build up the team overall so well that Seattle gets back to a Super Bowl run again.