The Seattle Seahawks need to make some cap room. One way of doing that is to release wide receiver Tyler Lockett and save $17 million. Another way could be to sign fellow receiver DK Metcalf to a contract extension. That move would save the team $13,464,377.
Yet another way of creating cap space is to trade Metcalf. Sure, there have been plenty of rumors and proposed trades flying about Metcalf for years, but according to Emerald City Spectrum's Corbin Smith, Seattle is actually listening to trade offers this week at the NFL Combine. One potential trade partner, suggests Smith, is the Green Bay Packers.
Smith also says that Seattle is not actively shopping Metcalf but is also not turning their other way when a team proposes a move. One unnamed team also feels as if they have a great proposal in place that Seahawks general manager John Schneider might not be able to say "no" to.
One Seahawks insider reports that Seattle is listening to trade offers for DK Metcalf
Of course, none of this means anything as Metcalf is still with the team and very easily could remain so. Trading him would save Seattle $10,875,471, so the team would actually save more money by signing an extension with the receiver. Plus, keeping him on the roster for several more years beyond 2025 (the current final year of Metcalf's deal with the Seahawks) and pairing him with Jaxon Smith-Njigba keeps the offense dangerous.
Based on what I've heard, for #Seahawks to move DK Metcalf, trade would have to be structured to receive No. 23 and either Romeo Doubs or Dontaryion Wicks in exchange for receiver and one of their early day three selections.
— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) February 28, 2025
Anything less than that, it's not happening.
But what if Metcalf is traded? That could be great news for Tyler Lockett, as long as the move happens soon. Seattle should not want to be rid of Metcalf and Lockett in the same offseason because that only leaves Seattle with JSN. Even if Metcalf is moved to the Packers in exchange for a high draft pick and a young receiver, the receiver is not yet of the ilk of Metcalf (or Lockett).
Smith reported that a deal to Green Bay would have to include the Packers' number 23 pick in the 2025 NFL draft as well as Romeo Doubs or Dontaryion Wicks. Doubs has never had as much as 700 yards receiving in three years, but he is 6'2," so his size would come close to matching Metcalf's.
Lockett's deal could still be restructured prior to free agency beginning (unofficially on March 10), and Seattle would be able to open up quite a bit of cap room to potentially add an inexpensive receiver. Or Seattle could take a wide receiver with one of their two first-round choices in 2025, assuming a trade is made with the Packers based on Smith's proposed deal or something akin with another team.
In other words, if Lockett wants to continue playing for the Seahawks, the money saved by trading Metcalf could be enough to allow Seattle to keep Lockett on the roster.
The issue would be if Seattle traded Metcalf after free agency. The money saved by the move would not help the Seahawks very much this offseason, and Lockett could be gone to create cap space. That would be a bigger risk because Seattle would only know it's going into next season with Smith-Njigba, a young receiver that has yet to break out, and then potentially a 2025 draftee.
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