Sources: Seahawks trading star WR DK Metcalf to Steelers
PITTSBURGH — The Steelers cannonballed into free agency Sunday night, acquiring wide receiver DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks for a 2025 second-round draft pick and agreeing to a five-year, $150 million extension, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Steelers and Seahawks also are flipping 2025 picks in the sixth and seventh rounds, sources said.
Metcalf, 27, a second-round pick in 2019, requested a trade Wednesday as he entered the final year of a three-year, $72 million extension signed in 2022. He previously had one year left on his contract worth $18 million, but the Steelers worked quickly to secure their new wideout to a deal worth $30 million annually.
That figure puts him in rare air among wide receivers and among Steelers free agents. Only six other wideouts have contracts currently valued for at least $30 million annually, and before Metcalf’s extension, the most the Steelers had spent on an outside free agent was linebacker Patrick Queen’s three-year, $41 million contract signed last free agency.
Metcalf’s trade comes only a few days after the Seahawks dealt quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders. Following both trades, the Seahawks have five picks in the first three rounds of the 2025 draft: Nos. 18, 50, 52 (via Pittsburgh), 82 and 92 (via Las Vegas).
In Metcalf, the Steelers finally landed their long-sought-after big-play pass catcher to round out a wide receiver room that lacked depth and star power behind 2022 second-round pick George Pickens. Metcalf averaged 15.0 yards per reception and 66.1 yards per game in 2024, collecting 66 receptions, 992 receiving yards and a career-low five touchdowns.
Metcalf was more productive in the first six games of the season, averaging nine targets. But after hurting an MCL in Week 7, Metcalf missed two games and averaged just under six targets per game over the rest of the campaign.
Since the Seahawks traded up to snag Metcalf out of Ole Miss with the final pick of the second round in 2019, the big-bodied wideout has averaged 1,054 receiving yards and eight touchdowns per season along with 14.4 yards per reception. Meanwhile, Pickens — the Steelers’ top receiver — averaged 64.3 yards per game and 15.3 yards per catch in 2024 during his third season in Pittsburgh. He also caught three touchdowns in an injury-shortened season.
Steelers wide receivers George Pickens, Calvin Austin III and DK Metcalf finished in the top 10 among 138 qualified players in yards per reception in 2024.
Pickens is eligible for an extension this offseason as he enters the last year of his rookie deal, and general manager Omar Khan expressed a desire to keep the mercurial wide receiver in Pittsburgh when he spoke with reporters at the NFL combine less than two weeks ago.
“I can tell you that he has a desire to be great,” Khan said of Pickens, via the team’s website. “He has a desire to be great here. We have a desire for him to be great and to be great here with respect to the contract. But you know, we won’t discuss that publicly, and usually those things are addressed at a later date.”
The next-most productive wideout on the Steelers’ 2024 roster was fellow 2022 draft pick Calvin Austin III, who averaged 15.2 yards per reception and finished the season with just 548 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
The Steelers’ pursuit of a top-tier wide receiver dates back to the previous offseason, when they were in the mix for the 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk. Aiyuk, however, opted to remain in San Francisco with a four-year, $120 million deal. The Steelers also landed wide receiver Mike Williams at the trade deadline from the New York Jets for a 2025 fifth-round pick, but Williams wasn’t a major contributor after a game-winning catch against the Washington Commanders less than a week after being traded.
Though the Steelers significantly upgraded their wide receiver room with the Metcalf acquisition, they still don’t have a quarterback under contract for the 2025 season. Both Justin Fields and Russell Wilson are slated to be free agents when the new league year opens Wednesday afternoon, and sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Fields wants to test the market before making an informed decision.
Wilson and Metcalf both starred together in Seattle, with Wilson serving as Metcalf’s quarterback for the first three seasons of his career.
The Jets also have expressed interest in Fields, the former Chicago Bears first-round pick, sources indicated to Fowler. Khan told reporters at the NFL combine that Pittsburgh’s top priority was sorting out the quarterback position; but Metcalf requested a trade earlier this week, expediting the Steelers’ roster-building timeline.
ESPN’s Brady Henderson contributed to this report.
Adam Schefter reports on the Bills and Josh Allen agreeing to a new six-year, $330 million contract. (0:58)
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Bills have rewarded NFL MVP Josh Allen with a record-setting six-year, $330 million contract through the 2030 season that includes $250 million guaranteed, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday.
It’s the largest guaranteed total given to an NFL player, surpassing the previous mark of Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who received $230 million guaranteed.
Allen, who was previously signed through 2028, will be 34 years old when the final year of this extension begins. The extension takes Allen from the 14th-highest average annual value among quarterbacks ($43 million) to tied for second ($55 million). Only Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has a contract with a higher average annual value ($60 million).
Bills quarterback Josh Allen is getting an NFL-record $250 million in guaranteed money as part of his new six-year, $330 contract.
“I love Josh and so proud of what he’s done, and so, I could be here all day talking about how great he is and what he’s done for our team and where he belongs in the pecking order of all that stuff,” general manager Brandon Beane said at the end of the 2024 season. “He and I have a great relationship. We talk a lot. When the dust settles, before we’re ever really talking to his agent or his agents calling me, like, Josh and I will have those conversations [about a potential extension], holistically about the team, things like that. And I’m not saying it will happen, I’m not saying it won’t happen. … There’ll be a time and place, and not saying we will, but not ruling it out either.”
Allen became the first player in NFL history to record at least 25 touchdown passes and 10 touchdown runs with fewer than 10 interceptions in a season. He finished with 28 touchdown passes, 12 rushing touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
Allen has accounted for 260 touchdowns in his career via passing or rushing, the most in a player’s first seven seasons in NFL history and 29 more than the next-closest player, Patrick Mahomes.
Improving turnovers was a focal point for Allen heading into the 2024 season, and he responded with the lowest number in a season for his career (eight). That went a long way toward the Bills’ success as they won their fifth consecutive AFC East title.
Allen also took a step forward in leadership in 2024, after an offseason of transition, by serving as one of two team captains.
“Josh Allen’s leadership, his consistent leadership, was the biggest reason why we did what we did this season. So, anybody that tries to say otherwise, I know better,” coach Sean McDermott said at the end of the season. “I’ve seen it, and him now doing that every season for us, not an easy undertaking.”
Allen’s play and leadership “went hand in hand,” McDermott said.
“He continues to do that, we’re going to win a lot of football games.”
Allen became the team’s third player to be voted MVP, joining Thurman Thomas (1991) and O.J. Simpson (1973).
Since entering the league in 2018, Allen has 65 rushing touchdowns — 10 more than the next closest quarterback (Jalen Hurts). Allen has accounted for at least 40 touchdowns (passing or rushing) in five straight seasons, the longest streak in NFL history. No other player has done that in four straight seasons, and only Aaron Rodgers has had more such seasons (six).
Allen will go into 2025 with consistency, as coordinator Joe Brady enters his second full season in the role. Allen is coming off his second AFC Championship Game appearance and going into his eighth season looking for his first Super Bowl appearance after going 0-4 against the Kansas City Chiefs and Mahomes in the postseason.
“We’re going to continue to turn every stone over and cross the T’s, dot the I’s and do whatever we can to try to bring a Lombardi back here to Western New York,” Allen said at the end of the season.
The extension tops a slew of recent new deals for Buffalo players: defensive end Greg Rousseau reached a four-year, $80 million contract; linebacker Terrel Bernard got a four-year, $50 million contract; and receiver Khalil Shakir agreed to a four-year, $53 million extension.
Allen, the No. 7 pick in 2018 out of Wyoming, became the first player in 21 seasons to win MVP without being selected first-team All-Pro. Since MVP was first awarded in 1957, the only other players to win despite not being a first-team All-Pro were Broncos quarterback John Elway (1987, when Joe Montana was first-team All-Pro) and Titans quarterback Steve McNair (2003, Manning).
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| Yards/Rec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alec Pierce | 22.3 | |
| Jameson Williams | 17.3 | |
| Rashod Bateman | 16.8 | |
| A.J. Brown | 16.1 | |
| Calvin Ridley | 15.9 | |
| Jayden Reed | 15.6 | |
| Darnell Mooney | 15.5 | |
| >>George Pickens | 15.3 | |
| >>Calvin Austin III | 15.2 | |
| >>DK Metcalf | 15.0 | |
| Josh Palmer | 15.0 | |
| >>Now on Steelers | ||
| Player | Gtd. $ |
|---|---|
| QB Josh Allen | $250M |
| QB Deshaun Watson | $230M |
| QB Dak Prescott | $229.4M |
| QB Joe Burrow | $219M |
DK Metcalf wanted a trade and got his wish. But wait until he sees the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback depth chart.
Waiting to make moves to help the offense until you have the quarterback in place isn’t always prudent. Opportunities can present themselves randomly, and the Steelers had a chance to get a very good receiver in Metcalf from a Seattle Seahawks team that suddenly wants to tear things down after going 10-7. Pittsburgh went ahead and made one of the more polarizing trades of the offseason, which hasn’t even officially started yet. The Steelers have been chasing that WR1 for a while, so they weren’t going to wait.
However, there’s a big hole left in Pittsburgh. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are free agents. While the Steelers presumably have a plan at quarterback, there’s no obvious available option that would push them into Super Bowl contender status.
Metcalf is a fun player and it’s not like the Steelers didn’t need someone to go alongside George Pickens. But it wasn’t cheap, Metcalf and Pickens might not be the best fit together and, well, the Steelers still have that one remaining problem.
Metcalf cost the Steelers a lot. They sent a second-round draft pick to the Seahawks. They also reportedly agreed to sign Metcalf to a startling five-year, $150 million deal.
We’ve seen teams hit on second-round receivers the past few years, as there’s more depth at the position than ever. That $150 million puts a dent into how many resources the Steelers have to throw at whatever quarterback option they think is best. Maybe it was a good use of resources to trade for Metcalf, but it can be debated.
Metcalf is a fantastic physical talent, with at least 900 yards in all six of his NFL seasons and a great playmaking ability. He’s great on deep passes. The problem might be that he can look across the formation and see Pickens, who has practically the same skills. They’re fairly redundant, perhaps a case of adding talent without having a great idea how the players fit together. Having two deep threats at receiver isn’t bad if you have a quarterback to complete those passes, and that’s where it becomes a problem for the Steelers.
It’s also worth noting that Pickens and Metcalf have something else in common, and it’s that their sideline demeanor isn’t exactly the easiest to manage. Bless the quarterback who is going to have to deal with those egos talking to him in each ear.
Whoever that quarterback will be.
Any analysis of moves that were made this week — and there seemed to be a million of them, making the actual free agency period seem very watered down before it even started — has to be consumed with context. The Steelers’ overall plan will be seen soon, and perhaps when it’s all revealed the Metcalf trade will make a lot more sense.
But at this point it looks like adding a Ferrari to the garage when there’s nobody who can drive the car. Will the Steelers be Aaron Rodgers’ landing spot? Can they try to make Daniel Jones a reclamation project? Will Wilson return after fading hard late last season? Does bringing back Fields make sense after they didn’t love him and started Wilson over him most of last season? Can they do the salary cap gymnastics required to land Sam Darnold? Maybe there’s a mystery door to be opened.
We’ll find out soon. There’s nothing wrong with being aggressive to get a good player, and Metcalf is just 27 years old. He has plenty of prime years left. His deal, at $30 million per season, isn’t that bad for a receiver at his level. Pittsburgh certainly had a need, especially considering how hard it is to trust Pickens.
It’s just that as of now, the pieces of the Steelers’ puzzle look fine but it’s hard to see how they will all fit together.
How much does DK Metcalf help?
Steelers still have needs
With D.K. Metcalf in, what will the Steelers do with George Pickens?
Steelers receiver George Pickens didn’t have glowing things to say after the season-ending playoff loss to the Ravens. How’s he feeling now?
With the Steelers giving D.K. Metcalf a four-year extension with a new-money average of $33 million, Pickens might find his own pickings slim as he enters a contract year at $3.4 million — roughly 10 percent of Metcalf’s new-money average.
What will they do with Pickens? Could he be traded? Will they keep him for one more year? It seems unlikely that he’ll get a massive extension. It’ll be harder to earn one with Metcalf getting the targets needed to justify the investment.
Throw in the fact that the Steelers know how to scout, draft, and develop receivers, and it could be that Pickens will be among the many transactions of the coming week, traded to a new team.
Metcalf might be rooting for it, since Pickens currently has No. 14 in Pittsburgh.
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