Seattle Seahawks star DK Metcalf has been blasted by the franchise’s general manager, John Schneider, for the timing of the wide receiver’s trade request from the team.
Metcalf handed in his trade request on Wednesday, hours after the Seahawks announced they would cut fellow wideout Tyler Lockett.
Lockett and Metcalf were in Seattle together for six seasons, with the pair becoming one of the NFL’s fiercest wide-receiver duos in their time in the Pacific Northwest.
Whether Lockett’s release was the direct cause for Metcalf wanting to play for another team was unclear. What is not murky is Schneider’s being unsatisfied with him.
‘Yeah, probably not intentional but very disappointed in the timing,’ Schneider said via Seattle Sports 710. ‘We wanted this to be a very special day, we wanted it to be Tyler Lockett Day.’
‘We’ve had cap casualties, very famous, extremely important legends that have been cap-casualty individuals that we probably could have handled a little bit different in the past.’
Seattle Seahawks star DK Metcalf has been blasted by the franchise’s general manager
Schneider did not like the timing from Metcalf, hoping that Tyler Lockett got his flowers instead
Read MoreEXCLUSIVE The dark truth of the NFL Combine: Insiders in the backrooms and bars spill their secrets
‘So we wanted to handle Tyler’s situation as classy as we possibly could, so yeah, we were all very excited to have this really nice day for Tyler to celebrate Tyler. Yeah, I’d be lying – I felt bad for Tyler. You put [on the] TVs, [it’s] all about DK instead of Tyler Lockett.’
Lockett being released is not a complete shock, as he will turn 33 in the middle of next season. Metcalf is 27 and is entering the prime of his career. His impending departure would leave the Seahawks with a mᴀssive gap in downfield weapons.
The free-agent wide receiver market is incredibly strong, giving the Seahawks less leverage to get a high-round draft pick for the star receiver should Seattle deal him.
Schneider has been the general manager for the Seahawks since 2010 and helped build the roster with the ‘Legion of Boom’ and that made consecutive Super Bowl appearances in 2014 and 2015.
Should Metcalf land elsewhere in the NFL, Jaxon Smith-Njigba appears to be the incumbent top receiver with plenty of options for the Seahawks to beef up their wide-receiving corps.