The Seattle Seahawks have their own passing game to worry about in the coming weeks. After all, the offense heads into the 2025 season with a new quarterback in Sam Darnold and without DK Metcalf for the first time in six seasons.
Metcalf wears black and gold now as the No. 1 receiving option for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Paired with 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers, Steelers fans are looking for every reason to throw all of their hopes in dreams into one season for those two to make some magic.
So far, not so good. Long before Rodgers officially joined the Steelers, a video surfaced showcasing Metcalf running routes for Rodgers at UCLA, building hype for the inevitable pairing. But one training camp practice in, that chemistry has only existed against air.
DK Metcalf’s bumpy start in Pittsburgh gives Seahawks fans reason to smile
As most of the football world has seen, Rodgers threw his first scrimmage pass in the direction of Metcalf on a short in-breaking route. Linebacker Patrick Queen stepped in front of the pass, immediately casting some doubt on this whole Rodgers-Metcalf experiment in Pittsburgh.
According to play-by-play reports from Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora, through the rest of practice across 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills, Metcalf and Rodgers continued to struggle to connect.
Soon after the initial interception, Rodgers wanted to hit Metcalf on a comeback route, except Metcalf didn’t break off his route and continued to fly downfield.
Later in 7-on-7, Rodgers looked for Metcalf on two plays. Metcalf couldn’t track down a corner route, and Rodgers got too far in front of Metcalf on a slant, which bounced off the former Seahawk’s hands. The pair did connect on a short pass over the middle, but that was the lone completion in live action between the two that Kozora reported.
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While Rodgers didn’t seem to have a great first practice himself, he did connect with Scotty Miller, Roman Wilson, and Darnell Washington in live drills.
To be fair to all, defense usually wins early in training camp, especially against an offense with so many new faces. But the rough start for Metcalf in his new home is nonetheless worth pointing out.
It will no doubt be a matter of time before Rodgers and Metcalf get on the same page, but Seahawks fans wouldn’t be too upset if that didn’t come until after their Week 2 meeting in Pittsburgh.