Pete Carroll gives update on DK Metcalf injury following NFL Draft

Seattle Seahawks star wide receiver DK Metcalf has been nursing a foot injury since the beginning of the 2021 NFL season, keeping him out of practice more often than not. After missing out on the playoffs and having time to nurse his injuries, he is trending toward being healthy for the start of next season.

“Yeah, he is [out of the boot], and he has started his running as well,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said, via Liz Mathews of USA Today. “Like those two guys [Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams] he is in a total rehab mode right now.”

Diggs has been working on recovering from a broken fibula and dislocated ankle suffered in the regular season finale against the Arizona Cardinals, but has been out of his cast since February. Diggs tore his labrum and suffered additional shoulder damage, the same shoulder that had already been surgically repaired less than a season prior.

While Diggs, Adams and Metcalf’s respective rehabs are well underway in Seattle, so are Metcalf’s contract negotiations.

“It’s really important to us,” Carroll said of a possible Metcalf extension, via The Athletic. “We’ll kick it into [General Manager] John [Schneider’s] court here in the weeks to come after the draft. We’re really communicating great and DK, we’ve been on a great wavelength to move forward. Hopefully, this will all work out. We don’t plan on him going anywhere. We want him to be with us.”

Metcalf’s agent, Tory Dandy, also represents another one of the NFL’s top receiver AJ Brown, who recently signed a new four-year, $100 million contract with $57 million guaranteed after being traded to the Eagles this weekend during the 2022 NFL Draft, meaning Dandy, who obviously knows how to secure a deal for his clients, can get the job done if the two sides come to an agreement.

As it stands, high profile receivers such as Hollywood Brown, Cooper Kupp and Deebo Samuel are all in the market for new contracts — and if they receive huge deals it could shape the market even more into Metcalf’s favor. Until they begin negotiations, the Seahawks and Metcalf will just have to wait and see how the market shapes up prior to July or August.

The Ole Miss product had 75 receptions for 967 yards and a career-high 12 touchdowns for the Seahawks this past season. Metcalf set a franchise record with 1,303 receiving yards and earn a trip to the Pro Bowl the year prior, and in three years with Seattle, he’s accumulated 216 catches for 3,170 yards and 29 touchdowns and is certainly worth keeping around, especially after losing Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson in a trade to the Denver Broncos.