RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks are expected to sign wide receiver DK Metcalf to a three-year contract extension that will be worth up to $72 million, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday on the condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the signing. ESPN first reported the deal, which includes $58 million guaranteed. The deal runs through the 2025 season, when he’ll have another shot at free agency.
Metcalf is the latest in a string of top pass catchers to get locked up with new deals this offseason. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract after being a second-round pick by Seattle in 2019 and getting him signed was a priority for the Seahawks this offseason.
Metcalf had watched during the first two days of Seattle’s training camp and head coach Pete Carroll said after practice on Thursday there was nothing new to report on the contract talks.
A day earlier, Carroll was optimistic an agreement was on the horizon.
“We are right there now. There is a lot of work being done, like right now,” Carroll said on Wednesday.
Getting the deal done may have taken longer than originally expected and faced some bumps along the way, most notably when Metcalf skipped Seattle’s mandatory minicamp in June. But Metcalf now has contract certainty going forward as the Seahawks embark on an offensive rebuild following the offseason trade of quarterback Russell Wilson to Denver.
Metcalf joins a lengthy list of wide receivers that have cashed in on big contracts this offseason. Cooper Kupp, A.J. Brown, Stefon Diggs, Terry McLaurin, Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, Chris Godwin, Mike Williams and Michael Gallup all signed extensions that are north of $50 million in potential total value.
Metcalf made $911,914 last season, a year where he had 75 receptions and a career-high 12 touchdown catches despite playing through a foot injury for most of the season.
His breakout season came in 2020 when Metcalf became a full-time starter and finished the year with 83 receptions for a franchise-record 1,303 yards receiving and 10 TDs, and was selected as a second-team AP All-Pro.
Metcalf was set to make about $3.99 million in the final year of his rookie contract. Metcalf had been around the Seahawks for stretches of the offseason workouts while rehabbing from foot surgery, but was surprisingly absent when the team gathered for its mandatory minicamp in early June. The message was clear that Metcalf didn’t want his contract status lingering and he wanted long-term stability.
Carroll agreed that a deal needed to get done before training camp arrived. And while that didn’t happen, Metcalf only missed a couple days of on-field work.
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