The rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks will be renewed this Sunday as the two teams square off in Week 1 of the regular season.
The rivalry will not quite be the same without wide receiver D.K. Metcalf in the mix, however.
Metcalf was a long-time Seahawk who is now with the Pittsburgh Steelers after being traded in the offseason. Niners fans have fond memories of him getting shut down in recent years, and San Francisco's top cornerback, Deommodore Lenoir, sounds like he may even miss him a bit:
Deommodore Lenoir is gonna miss seeing his "fellow friend" DK Metcalf twice a year.
"Every time we play them, first play, he always came at me. So I knew what type of game it was going to be. So I'm hoping they try to come at me [still]." pic.twitter.com/RpO8L6Yaew
— KNBR (@KNBR) September 3, 2025
If you cannot access the post, Lenoir says with regard to Metcalf, "Every time we play them, first play, he always came at me. So I knew what type of game it was going to be. So I'm hoping they try to come at me [still]."
When Metcalf requested a trade back in March, Lenoir was all over it on social media and said that Metcalf was the only person who made that game fun. He had some NSFW trolling ready for Metcalf after San Francisco beat Seattle back in October of last year.
It seems Lenoir may have a new target on Seattle in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The wide receiver is now the top dog in Seattle with Metcalf gone, and Lenoir took aim at him on social media over the summer.
Maybe this will be the new trash-talking showdown of the rivalry for the next several years.
Fans are well aware that there is a rich history of wide receivers and cornerbacks going after each other between these two franchises. Of course, the most famous example of this is when Richard Sherman called Michael Crabtree a "sorry" wide receiver after his tip on a pass helped seal Seattle's victory over the 49ers in the 2014 NFC Championship game. San Francisco has gotten the better of Seattle as of late, though.
Lenoir was just named a captain for the 49ers and was signed to a long-term extension last season, so he is going to be a leader in San Francisco for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, he has recovered from a hip injury and should be good to go on Sunday.
It is always fun to see a good wide receiver go up against a good cornerback. While the rivalry won't be quite the same without Metcalf, it would come as no shock if there are some passionate words exchanged between Lenoir and Smith-Njigba on Sunday.