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Brooke PryorMar 9, 2025, 08:02 PM ET
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- Brooke Pryor is a reporter for NFL Country at ESPN who has lined the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2019. She in the past lined the Kansas Town Chiefs for the Kansas Town Famous person and the College of Oklahoma for The Oklahoman.
PITTSBURGH — The Steelers cannonballed into unfastened company Sunday evening, obtaining broad receiver DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks for a 2025 second-round draft pick out and agreeing to a five-year, $150 million extension, assets instructed ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Steelers and Seahawks are also flipping 2025 choices within the 6th and 7th rounds, assets mentioned.
Metcalf, 27, a second-round pick out in 2019, asked a business Wednesday as he entered the overall yr of a three-year, $72 million extension signed in 2022. He in the past had three hundred and sixty five days left on his contract value $18 million, however the Steelers labored temporarily to protected their new wideout to a deal value $30 million yearly.
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That determine places him in uncommon air amongst broad receivers and amongst Steelers unfastened brokers. Simplest six different wideouts have contracts recently valued for a minimum of $30 million yearly, and sooner than Metcalf’s extension, probably the most the Steelers had spent on an outdoor unfastened agent used to be linebacker Patrick Queen’s three-year, $41 million contract signed closing unfastened company.
Metcalf’s business comes only some days after the Seahawks dealt quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders. Following each trades, the Seahawks have 5 choices within the first 3 rounds of the 2025 draft: Nos. 18, 50, 52 (by the use of Pittsburgh), 82 and 92 (by the use of Las Vegas).
In Metcalf, the Steelers in spite of everything landed their long-sought-after big-play go catcher to around out a large receiver room that lacked intensity and superstar energy in the back of 2022 second-round pick out George Pickens. Metcalf averaged 15.0 yards consistent with reception and 66.1 yards consistent with recreation in 2024, amassing 66 receptions, 992 receiving yards and a career-low 5 touchdowns.
Metcalf used to be extra productive within the first six video games of the season, averaging 9 objectives. However after hurting an MCL in Week 7, Metcalf neglected two video games and averaged slightly below six objectives consistent with recreation over the remainder of the marketing campaign.
Because the Seahawks traded as much as snag Metcalf out of Ole Leave out with the overall pick out of the second one around in 2019, the big-bodied wideout has averaged 1,054 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns consistent with season along side 14.4 yards consistent with reception. In the meantime, Pickens — the Steelers’ height receiver — averaged 64.3 yards consistent with recreation and 15.3 yards consistent with catch in 2024 throughout his 3rd season in Pittsburgh. He additionally stuck 3 touchdowns in an injury-shortened season.
| 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 |
Pickens is eligible for an extension this offseason as he enters the closing yr of his rookie deal, and common supervisor Omar Khan expressed a want to stay the mercurial broad receiver in Pittsburgh when he spoke with journalists on the NFL mix not up to two weeks in the past.
“I will be able to let you know that he has a want to be nice,” Khan mentioned of Pickens, by the use of the group’s web page. “He has a want to be nice right here. We have now a want for him to be nice and to be nice right here with recognize to the contract. However you realize, we would possibly not talk about that publicly, and in most cases the ones issues are addressed at a later date.”
The following-most productive wideout at the Steelers’ 2024 roster used to be fellow 2022 draft pick out Calvin Austin III, who averaged 15.2 yards consistent with reception and completed the season with simply 548 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns.
The Steelers’ pursuit of a top-tier broad receiver dates again to the former offseason, once they had been within the combine for the 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk. Aiyuk, on the other hand, opted to stay in San Francisco with a four-year, $120 million deal. The Steelers additionally landed broad receiver Mike Williams on the business time limit from the New York Jets for a 2025 fifth-round pick out, however Williams wasn’t a significant contributor after a game-winning catch towards the Washington Commanders not up to every week after being traded.
Despite the fact that the Steelers considerably upgraded their broad receiver room with the Metcalf acquisition, they nonetheless wouldn’t have a quarterback underneath contract for the 2025 season. Each Justin Fields and Russell Wilson are slated to be unfastened brokers when the brand new league yr opens Wednesday afternoon, and assets instructed ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Fields needs to check the marketplace sooner than making an educated choice.
Wilson and Metcalf each starred in combination in Seattle, with Wilson serving as Metcalf’s quarterback for the primary 3 seasons of his profession.
The Jets even have expressed hobby in Fields, the previous Chicago Bears first-round pick out, assets indicated to Fowler. Khan instructed journalists on the NFL mix that Pittsburgh’s height precedence used to be checking out the quarterback place; however Metcalf asked a business previous this week, expediting the Steelers’ roster-building timeline.
ESPN’s Brady Henderson contributed to this file.
