The idea of the Seattle Seahawks trading star wide receiver DK Metcalf had loomed as a possibility for the past couple of months.
This week, it became real.
Seahawks GM details where they are on DK Metcalf trade talks
On Wednesday morning, reports broke that Metcalf has requested to be traded by Seattle. And on Thursday afternoon, Seahawks general manager John Schneider confirmed during his weekly show on Seattle Sports that the Hawks are listening to offers and “talking to a ton of teams.”
So now, the big question becomes: What type of value could the Seahawks receive by trading their ultra-talented 27-year-old wideout?
Two NFL insiders addressed that question Thursday on Seattle Sports, with both pointing to one positive factor working in the Seahawks’ favor and one negative factor working against them.
The positive
The good news for Seattle is this year’s underwhelming receiver market – both in free agency and the NFL Draft – could drive up Metcalf’s value.
In his ranking of the best potential free agents, NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal has just four receivers in his top 35. And while those four receivers are all big names – Chris Godwin, Davante Adams, Amari Cooper and Stefon Diggs – they are each either an aging veteran or coming off a major injury.
As for the draft, this year’s class is widely considered to be weaker than recent years. In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Jordan Reid has just five receivers in his top 50. And that includes two-way prospect Travis Hunter, who might only play cornerback in the NFL. By contrast, the past five drafts have seen an average of 8.8 receivers go in the top 50.
“This is a year where receivers are kind of at a premium,” NFL Network’s Eric Edholm said to Bump and Stacy. “… Right now, the current (free agent) pool is a little bit underwhelming (and) the draft crop is less than normal. Receiver is a position we’ve sort of become accustomed to being loaded every single year in the draft, but I don’t know that that’s the case this year.
“So it really puts Seattle in an interesting position. They certainly could have multiple bidders lined up and could try to get them to kind of bid against each other and drive up the price.”
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer echoed that sentiment to Brock and Salk – especially now that the Cincinnati Bengals placed the franchise tag on star wideout Tee Higgins earlier this week, which took possibly this year’s most coveted potential free agent off the market.
“If you’re a receiver-needy team like the Chargers (or) the Patriots that looks at it and says ‘We need to give our quarterback a true bona fide number one,’ with Higgins off the the free agent market and the draft class being what it is, there aren’t a lot of options out there,” Breer said. “And so I think that probably gives the Seahawks the chance over the next four or five days to really see what DK is worth in the market.”
The negative
On the flip side, Metcalf has only one season left on the three-year, $72 million contract extension he signed in July 2022.
That presumably decreases Metcalf’s value at least somewhat, as the team acquiring him would then have to take on signing him to a big contract extension. According to a report from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini on Thursday, Metcalf is eying a new contract worth approximately $30 million per year.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks are seeking a first-round pick and a third-round pick in exchange for Metcalf, according to Russini.
“The hard ask if you’re Seattle right now is asking another team to give up the high-end draft assets plus the monster deal,” Breer said. “And that’s where the contract situation hurts his value. Like, if you had a guy who was signed for the next three or four years, you’d be talking about something else. Then I think you’d be well within your rights to ask for a (first-round pick).
“That’s not what we’re talking about (here). You’re basically granting the other team the right to extend him and the right to pay him at the top of the market. And when DK Metcalf enters into that negotiation – because he knows that team wants him and has a finite amount of time to get it done – DK kind of holds all the cards. So you’re not great you’re not in a great spot from a leverage perspective when you’re trying to negotiate the contract before the trade is completed.”
The verdict
So, what does that all mean for the Seahawks?
Breer said his best guess is Seattle nets a second-round pick plus another pick by trading Metcalf.
Edholm has a similar view. He doesn’t think the Seahawks will be able to get the first-round pick they reporting are hoping for.
“I don’t know that Seattle’s gonna be able to get that,” Edholm said. “Could they get a high second and maybe something else, (like) a pick next year? I think they could. I think that’s a reasonable and fair expectation.
“But it never hurts to ask for the moon, especially if you have two, three, four teams trying to get him.”
Listen to the full Bump and Stacy conversation with NFL Network’s Eric Edholm at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Hear the full Brock and Salk conversation with Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story.
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