What happens to star Seahawks WRs Lockett and Metcalf now?

The Seahawks are set to enter an entirely new era as the team traded star quarterback Russell Wilson and released All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner on Tuesday.

Major moves like that, particularly in the case of Wilson, signal a rebuild is coming up.

Heaps: Would be ‘massive mistake’ for Seahawks to shortcut rebuild

In most rebuilds, star players are shipped out in favor of smaller contracts and draft picks. For the Seahawks, they have two stars at the wide receiver position who nearly every team would want on their roster.

Those receivers are DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, both of whom shined for Seattle not just in 2021 but over the last few years. Lockett, as a result of the Seahawks trading Wilson and releasing Wagner, is Seattle’s longest-tenured player, having joined the team in 2015.

With Wilson and Wagner gone and the direction of the franchise appearing to be a full-scale rebuild, what happens next for those two pass catchers? Seattle Sports’ Jake and Stacy tackled that conversation on Wednesday.

“I think this is also the product of Tyler Lockett now being one of the longest-tenured players and one of the biggest stars remaining and one of the pricier veterans remaining,” Stacy Rost said of Lockett being a potential trade piece.

Lockett, 29, signed a four-year extension last offseason that keeps him under contract through 2025. Metcalf, meanwhile, is 24 and entering the final year of his rookie deal. Metcalf just finished his third NFL season so he’s eligible to sign a contract extension.

Rost said Lockett, who had his third straight 1,000-yard season in 2021, “is not slipping,” but she’d rather the Seahawks keep Metcalf than him if it was a choice between the two wideouts.

“I think Tyler Lockett is a phenomenal talent. It would make more sense to me to keep DK,” she said. “You’re not guaranteed to get anyone as good or better than Metcalf. DK Metcalf is young. I know that he’s due for an extension this offseason (as he’s) entering into the final year of his rookie deal, but he is young.”

“He’s homegrown,” added  Jake Heaps. “He’s one of your guys. I mean, he is the style of personality that Pete Carroll loves and wants to have part of his program. But does it make sense?”

When looking at the Seahawks futures for both Lockett and Metcalf, Heaps said it all comes down to what’s next for Seattle at quarterback and whether it can find the next long-term starter before next season begins.

“Do they just think that they can trade Russell Wilson and are going to find the next guy this year? And in doing so, we still want to have Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf around, right?” Heaps said. “As a young rookie quarterback, it’s pretty nice to be able to have those two studs on the outside to help make that transition into the league just a little bit easier. So you could see that process or going and getting a Kirk Cousins or a Derek Carr or Deshaun Watson.”

If the Seahawks draft a quarterback early or acquire a more proven starter, then Heaps sees more reason for them to hold onto Lockett and Metcalf.

“However, if you are fully committed to a rebuild and you’re going down that road, then yes, I would be looking to move on from the assets that you can trade and give you the most capital,” Heaps said.

Because of Lockett’s recent extension, Heaps isn’t sure whether the Seahawks can get much for him. Plus, the Seahawks would have to eat a good chunk of money to move him so soon.

Metcalf, though, is a different story.

“The clear cut person that would bring back the most return would be DK Metcalf, without question,” Heaps said. “I think you could get two (first-round picks) potentially for DK Metcalf. At worse you’re getting a first and some for DK Metcalf and that would be a great haul for the Seattle Seahawks as they’re continuing to try and rebuild, rebrand and refresh their roster. Does it make sense to have a $20-plus million receiver without a a proven quarterback in place to throw to them?”

Listen to the full conversation in the podcast of the third hour of Wednesday’s edition of Jake and Stacy at this link or in the player below.

Rost: 3 big questions after Seahawks’ release of LB Bobby Wagner

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