What kind of roster moves are the Seattle Seahawks going to pull off this offseason? If anything is clear it is that Seattle has to do something to address its salary cap issues. The team is currently over the projected cap, and that means some expensive veterans are going to have to be released.
The other options for Seattle to create cap room include extending players whose contracts might end in 2025 or trading them. The Seahawks do not have too many players, though, who would likely bring much back in a trade package. One of those players is cornerback Devon Witherspoon who is still on his rookie deal, so he will not be going anywhere. Another is wide receiver DK Metcalf.
Every offseason there is speculation that Metcalf could be moved. He is still young enough (he is 27 years old) to potentially have several highly productive seasons left. He might even have better numbers with an offense designed to feature him more than Seattle's. Metcalf wants to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day, but he isn't getting the kind of numbers he needs to get there with the Seahawks.
Trade proposal would send Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf to the Patriots for a potential QB1
Possibly, Metcalf would welcome a trade to a team that is going to throw him the ball more. He might also prefer to play somewhere that is more of a media hub than Seattle. This would likely mean going to a team in the Northeast. The wide receiver is popular, but he would be even more well-known if he played in New York, Philadelphia, or Boston.
This leads us to a recently proposed trade that was discussed by Patriots insider Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston. To be fair, Perry did not come up with the trade proposal, a reader did. That is one reason there is a bit of an issue with all that would be involved. Still, Perry did not think the proposal was a bad one.
In the scenario, the New England Patriots would trade for Metcalf and Seattle's third-rounder in the 2025 NFL draft while the Seahawks would receive New England's second-round choice and backup quarterback Joe Milton. Many NFL observers were impressed by Milton's performance in the Patriots' final game of the season against the Buffalo Bills.
Against Buffalo, Milton completed 22 of 29 passes for 241 yards, a touchdown. He also ran for one. He was accurate and athletic, but the game also should come with an asterisk. The Bills already knew their playoff seeding and rested several starters. Milton was good, but he wasn't playing Buffalo's first-team defense for the entire game.
The quarterback was a sixth-round draft pick for a reason. In college, he showed a huge arm (there is no argument that Milton has an extremely strong arm), but he was inconsistent in his reads and inconsistent in knowing when to run or pass on run-pass options. His lack of accuracy was alarming, and there is no guarantee that has been fixed in his one season in the NFL.
The assumption would have to be that adding Milton means Sam Howell or Geno Smith are not with the team. If Smith and Metcalf are both gone then the implication is Seattle is doing a rebuild and not a re-tool. Is Milton capable of becoming a QB1 soon? That is very doubtful.
The asking price by the Patriots in any package that involves Milton should also not be a third-round choice in return. Milton is never going to be the starter in New England unless Drake Maye gets hurt. Both Maye and Milton were drafted by the Patriots in 2024. The demand should not be high for Milton, a quarterback unlikely to ever be a long-term starter with the team he currently plays for.
Should the Seahawks move Metcalf and a fifth-round choice to New England for a second-round pick and Milton there could be a realistic discussion to pull off the trade. But certainly not Metcalf and a third-rounder for Milton and a second-rounder.