Some Pittsburgh Steelers may have had visions of WR DK Metcalf in the Black and Gold last year thanks to the team having signed his former quarterback and occasional workout partner, Russell Wilson. At least for the time being, they don’t have Wilson now, but suddenly they do have Metcalf.
It turns out, that wasn’t so surprising, because they were the most aggressive team the Seahawks would do business with. Adam Schefter reported to that effect last night on ESPN while discussing the Steelers’ trade for Metcalf.
“Pittsburgh has been trying to get a wide receiver for a couple of years now, and DK Metcalf became available. Very rarely do you get a receiver this good, this talented, who becomes available right before the start of the new league year”, he said, adding that the Steelers began having conversations with the Seahawks, as did many other teams.
“We saw the Rams sign Davante Adams—the Seahawks weren’t gonna trade [Metcalf] in-division. We’ve seen the Chargers proceed carefully here”, Schefter continued. “The Pittsburgh Steelers were the most aggressive team for DK Metcalf with the Seattle Seahawks and with DK Metcalf contractually. They satisfied Seattle’s asking price of a second-round draft pick and a draft pick flip in later rounds, and they satisfied DK Metcalf’s price and now the Steelers finally have the wide receiver that they’ve been looking for the last couple of years”.
After trading Diontae Johnson a year ago, Pittsburgh never managed to replenish its wide receiver room. They took a potential trade for Brandon Aiyuk down to the wire, but he audibled at the last minute. Refusing to take the bait a second year in a row, the Steelers pounced hard and landed DK Metcalf. Of course, Schefter said that wasn’t going to happen.
Of course, I should urge caution yet, because nothing has actually happened up to this point. The Steelers can’t officially trade for Metcalf until the start of the new league year, even if all the pieces are in place. It’s unlikely that something can put the kibosh on the whole enterprise, but it’s also not impossible.
Of course, it helps that the Steelers are willing to give Metcalf $150 million, while the Seahawks presumably are not. It will become the largest non-quarterback contract in team history, though T.J. Watt will surpass that in APY.
The trade for DK Metcalf is arguably the most aggressive move the Steelers have made in half a century. While they traded a first-round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick in 2019, he was on a rookie deal. The Steelers not only agreed to trade a second-round pick but to give Metcalf $30 million per year. Were a new contract not involved, that would probably be the equivalent of a first-round pick and then some.
But at least the move gives the Steelers a reliable producer in Metcalf. In his six-year career, he has 438 catches for 6,324 yards and 49 touchdowns. He has the sort of production the Steelers have been waiting to see from George Pickens, in other words.
