DK Metcalf isn’t looking back at Seattle with regret, even after the Seahawks went on to win Super Bowl LX without him.
The Steelers receiver, who asked to be traded before the 2025 season, spoke candidly about the choice in an interview with The Athletic’s Jonathan Jones. Seattle ended up taking home the title.
Pittsburgh, on the other hand, was bounced in the wild-card round. Metcalf still isn’t interested in revisiting the decision.
“I live with my decisions every day… they’re very well-thought-out decisions to where I know the consequences, know my benefits from every decision that I make,” Metcalf said. “I got brothers on (the Seahawks), still friends on the team.
So I congratulated them, but nobody’s sour over an ex unless you really miss them. So no, I wasn’t sour.”
Seattle moved him partly because a major contract for Jaxon Smith-Njigba was coming, according to Jones. In the deal, the Seahawks got Pittsburgh’s 2025 second-round pick at No. 52 and a late-round swap, while the Steelers received Metcalf and a sixth-round selection. Pittsburgh then locked him in on a four-year, $132 million extension that averages $33 million per year, according to contract details reported by multiple outlets and confirmed by the Seahawks.
Metcalf’s Seattle run stretched from 2019 through 2024, and it was a productive one. He made two Pro Bowls, earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2020 and established himself as one of the league’s toughest downfield targets. He topped 900 receiving yards in each of those seasons and set a franchise record at the time with 1,303 yards in 2020.
His first season in Pittsburgh was solid but not explosive: 59 catches, 850 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games. The Steelers went 10-7, hosted a wild-card game and then got blasted by Houston, 30-6, on Jan. 12, 2026, at Acrisure Stadium. The Texans piled up 23 points in the fourth quarter and added two defensive touchdowns, according to CBS Pittsburgh and official recaps.
Seattle’s path looked very different. Built around Smith-Njigba and a defense that shut teams down, the Seahawks finished 14-3 and beat the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium. Kenneth Walker III took MVP honors after rushing for 135 yards, per NFL.com.
That contrast gives Metcalf’s move an obvious spotlight heading into 2026. He’s now paired with Aaron Rodgers in an offense that needs his size and speed to open things up.
Seattle, meanwhile, moved forward with Smith-Njigba as the centerpiece, and he led the NFL in receiving yards last season. The split also reflected the financial and schematic realities in Seattle, along with Metcalf’s frustration with his role under former coordinator Ryan Grubb.
Metcalf remains under contract through 2029 after the Steelers restructured his deal this summer to create cap space. He is expected to play in Week 1 against Atlanta. For Pittsburgh, the question is simple: can the investment turn into the kind of postseason run Seattle just made without him?
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