Wednesday was supposed to belong to Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett. The team knew Lockett was going to be released, saving the team $17 million, but did not want to announce the move on the same day several other Seahawks were being released. Lockett has been far more valuable to the organization than the other players.
Instead of grouping Lockett in with names such as Dre'Mont Jones, Rayshawn Jenkins, George Fant, and Roy Robertson-Harris, the team waited until the day after to break the Lockett news. About 10 minutes after 12s found out Lockett had been let go, fellow wide receiver DK Metcalf and his agent seemingly leaked the news that Metcalf had requested a trade from the Seahawks.
Now, one could argue that Metcalf and his agent, who would have almost certainly been the ones to leak the information as the Seahawks do not have a history of doing those kinds of things, that the duo did not have an idea that the news of Lockett being released was happening. That seems like a stretch, though. This is especially true as the Metcalf trade request news broke after Lockett's news.
DK Metcalf hijacks recently released Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett's special day
Most likely, Metcalf and/or his agent (or agents) did not care if the Seahawks were trying to give Lockett his own news day for being let go. They simply wanted their name in the news to try to drum up drama and trade interest. The issue is that Lockett and his agent would not have done the same thing if the situations were reversed.
Lockett has never come across as self-serving or more important than others. He has been a terrific player, sure, but he has been an even better human being. He deserved to have a Seahawks news day to himself, and Metcalf hijacked it. Lockett might not have cared as he does not seemingly have the go of many other professional athletes (such as Metcalf), but 12s should care.
Another aspect was that while Lockett responded to his breaking news with class on social media, he was only reacting to what had happened to him. Metcalf was making the news about him. One had no control over the recent narrative of their careers, and the other did.
ESPN's Brady Henderson also reported the team was upset about the timing of the Metcalf news breaking compared to when the Lockett news was announced. It was simply unfair to Lockett.
Wednesday was a sad day for Seahawks fans and Lockett because a long-time fan favorite was being released by the team. 12s did not have time to grieve, however. DK Metcalf made sure of that.
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