Is DK Metcalf playing today? Latest updates for Seahawks star wide receiver

DK Metcalf doesn't like to miss games. After coming into the league and having to prove he could stay healthy, the Seattle Seahawks receiver has done just that. He has missed just one game, and that was last year when there was some question about whether Metcalf was hurt enough to miss the game or if he was being benched for too many 15-yard penalties.

Either way, the receiver has shown if he can play, he will. In Week 7, Metcalf sprained his MCL on an attempted catch. He jumped for the ball, was pushed (cleanly; there was no intention to injure Metcalf), and ended up going toward the ground sideways. A test showed that Metcalf suffered a Grade 1 sprain of his MCL, and he was deemed to be week-to-week.

The receiver did not practice in the days leading up to the game. On the final injury report, he was listed as doubtful. Still, head coach Mike Macdonald knows that if there is one player who will expect to play if he is at all capable of doing so, it is Metcalf.

Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf was listed as doubtful with a sprained MCL

Without Metcalf, the Seahawks might be forced to go with a shorter passing game. They do not have another receiver who can consistently take the top off the defense like Metcalf can. Few teams do. Seattle does have Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett, and while both catch extremely well, they do not get open deep very often.

Seattle's Week 8 opponent, the Buffalo Bills, has had issues struggling to stop the run, just as the Seahawks have. Without Metcalf, Seattle could rely on running backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet a lot more. That strategy might still work, but if Metcalf were playing and the Bills had to account for a potentially explosive play by Metcalf, that would help the running game.

DK Metcalf is currently a game-time decision. The team might be better off resting him since knee injuries are nothing to mess around with. Still, no one is likely going to tell Metcalf that he cannot play if he wants to and is close to healthy enough to do so.

Update: Metcalf has been ruled inactive for Week 8

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