Steelers make splashy move, acquire WR DK Metcalf for 2nd-round draft pick
Adding the big-play veteran receiver they lacked last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers are acquiring DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks, a league source confirmed to TribLive on Sunday.
ESPN initially reported the trade, adding that the Steelers will be giving Metcalf a five-year, $150 million contract. Metcalf is scheduled to make $18 million this season in the final year of his current contract.
The Steelers are sending a second-round draft pick to Seattle, and they are swapping sixth-round and seventh- round picks with the Seahawks to land Metcalf, a two-time Pro Bowl receiver who recently requested a trade. The move is a splashy one for the Steelers with the start of the legal tampering period for free agency beginning at noon Monday.
Metcalf, 27, has surpassed 1,000 yards receiving in three of his six NFL seasons. In 2024, he caught 66 passes for 992 yards and five touchdowns. He missed two games with a knee injury.
Before acquiring Metcalf, the Steelers were about $64 million under the salary cap. It remains undetermined who will be throwing passes to Metcalf this season. He could be reunited with former Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. He is viewed as the backup plan if the Steelers don’t re-sign Justin Fields. Wilson and Fields are set to become free agents Monday.
After trading top receiver Diontae Johnson last March, the Steelers didn’t adequately replace him in the lineup, and a lack of a dependable option to pair with George Pickens was a shortcoming the entire season. The Steelers traded for Mike Williams in October, but aside from a touchdown catch in his first game he wasn’t a focal point of the offense.
Pickens led Steelers wide receivers with 59 catches for 900 yards and three touchdowns. Calvin Austin III was second with 36 catches for 548 yards and four touchdowns. Van Jefferson, who is a free agent, caught 24 passes for 276 yards and two scores.
The Steelers still are expected to select a wide receiver in the NFL Draft but can make other positions such as defensive line a priority.
Metcalf reportedly wanted to play in a warm-weather city, but the lure of a mega- contract extension by the Steelers — the richest in franchise history — apparently was enough to change that school of thought.
Per salary-tracking site Spotrac, Metcalf is getting a four-year, $132 million extension on top of his salary for 2025.
With his new contract, Metcalf becomes the NFL’s fourth highest-paid wide receiver. His $30 million average annual value for five seasons is tied with San Francisco’s Brandon Aiyuk, who the Steelers tried to acquire in a trade before the start of the 2024 season.
The only receivers making more than Metcalf on a per-year basis are Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson ($35 million), Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb ($34 million) and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown ($30,002,500).
Metcalf had his breakout season in 2020, his second year with the Seahawks, when he caught 83 passes for a career-high 1,303 yards and 10 touchdowns. He set a career best with 12 touchdown receptions the following season, and in 2022, Metcalf caught 90 passes for 1,048 yards and six touchdowns.
Metcalf, however, requested a trade when contract talks broke down with Seattle, which is going through a rebuilding phase. The Seahawks traded quarterback Geno Smith to Las Vegas late last week and are releasing veteran wide receiver Tyler Lockett.
