The reasons DK Metcalf wanted out of Seattle are somewhat shrouded in mystery.
One explanation offered this week came from Albert Breer of SI.com who stated Metcalf wanted a contract extension immediately instead of waiting into the late spring or summer.
The Seahawks typically prefer to wait until after free agency and the draft to work on extensions for players who have a year remaining on their contracts, as Metcalf did.
Breer, Metcalf said, wanted to be paid now.
“And not now as in this offseason. Now, as in right now in March,” Breer wrote this week.
Metcalf was traded to the Steelers for a second-round draft pick and agreed to a four-year extension worth $132 million, giving him a total five years on his contract at $150 million.
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Metcalf shed a little more light on his departure during an appearance on the “Get Got Pod” with former Seahawks Marshawn Lynch and Michael Robinson that went live Thursday morning on YouTube.
“It’s just time for me to move on,” Metcalf said. “I think it’s the grass is greener on the other side.”
Metcalf’s contract situation was not mentioned on the podcast.
Metcalf did mention that there was substantial change in his time with the Seahawks, notably with Mike Macdonald taking over for Pete Carroll as coach a year ago.
Metcalf noted that by the beginning of last season there were only five other players who were still with the team who were there when he arrived in 2019 (Geno Smith, Michael Dickson, Tyler Lockett, Jarran Reed and Jason Myers).
“Start getting different messages from what you’re used to,” Metcalf said, noting the team no longer used Carroll’s famous “Always Compete” mantra.
“The Pete messages were gone, completely gone, so now it’s just six outsiders trying to get a new message. … Now we look like the outsiders.”
Metcalf noted some difficulty adjusting to working with offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who took over for Shane Waldron with the firing of Carroll’s staff.
Metcalf said he and Lockett had long watched film on their own and passed along suggestions to the coaches on Tuesday when the week’s game plan was formulated.
Metcalf said their suggestions appeared to be ignored.
He said it came to a head during a Thursday night home loss to the 49ers in October.
In an incident that was noted at the time, Metcalf grabbed the headset to talk to Grubb in the coach’s booth.
Metcalf said he told Grubb that having played against the 49ers he knew how they planned to defend on third downs — “sitting at the sticks,” as he said, meaning at the first-down marker.
“I was like ‘OK on third down we have to run past him early because they are just going to sit at the sticks,” he said.
After a third-and-short pass play that the 49ers broke up, Metcalf grabbed the headset to tell Grubb “can we please run by these guys? They are sitting at the sticks on third down.”
Metcalf spoke of that interaction at the time.
In the “Get God Pod,” he indicated it had a lingering impact.
“That was the last week me and Lock did that (sending in suggestions),” Metcalf said. “The last week me and Lock did any extra game planning.”
Metcalf said it also hurt him to see the team phase out Lockett as the year wore on, which led to Lockett’s release two weeks ago on the same day Metcalf’s trade request was revealed.
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“That’s my brother,’’ Metcalf said. “… And it’s like I had to sit and watch my brother be told, ‘You’re not good enough anymore.’ That was basically the hard part for me.’’
Metcalf indicated there was no issue playing with Smith.
At least two national reports have speculated that the relationship between the two might have led to some of Metcalf’s unhappiness in Seattle.
Metcalf’s words on the podcast disputed that.
“I was great having Geno as a quarterback, because he knew who I was since I was a rookie,’’ said Metcalf, who arrived with Smith in 2019. “So he already knew the type of person I was.”
You can watch the full episode here:
Bob Condotta: bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Bob Condotta covers the Seahawks for the Seattle Times. He provides daily coverage of the team throughout the year.