DK Metcalf is a Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver in one of the biggest trade in team history. The team handed out the largest contract in franchise history to an external player just to land Metcalf in a blockbuster trade.
Yet, that seemingly almost never happened. Cam Heyward thought Metcalf would land with the Los Angeles Chargers, and while he would not credit for landing Metcalf, he could have landed with another AFC team.
"I was in California at the time, and I heard D.K. was in town, and then someone was like, ‘Oh he’s going to the Chargers,’ and so I hit up one of my friends, Tracy Perlman and she was like, ‘Yeah, I hear he might be going.‘” Heyward said on the Not Just Football podcast. “I’m like, ‘Text D.K. Tell him to come with us.’ And then like in the next week, he was already with us. I don’t know how that happened, but D.K. was all about it.”
Metcalf’s five-year, $150 million deal was the largest gross amount of money towards a wide receiver in NFL history before Ja’Marr Chase broke that earlier this offseason. Metcalf becomes the sixth-highest-paid wide receiver on average per year with the deal.
Metcalf is an explosive playmaker who led the NFL in 20 or more yards receptions in 2024. He has a skill set similar to the team’s other standout wide receiver, George Pickens, but the two-time Pro Bowler adds a dynamic element to an offense that badly needs talent.
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