Seahawks WR DK Metcalf not at minicamp, per report

Star Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf is not present at the team’s three-day minicamp this week, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. The question is how much should be read into his absence.

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Rapoport included two pieces of information to consider in his tweet about Metcalf.

First, Metcalf is a candidate for a contract extension, and a pretty hefty one at that considering the kinds of deals and trade hauls that first-rate receivers have netted this offseason.

Second, Metcalf is still rehabbing from February foot surgery to remove a screw from a previous procedure. According to Rapoport, Metcalf is doing so in Los Angeles rather than at Seahawks headquarters in Renton.

Sources: #Seahawks star WR DK Metcalf is not present for mandatory minicamp, as contract talks have not yet resulted in a new deal. He continues to rehab his injury in LA.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 7, 2022

So does Metcalf’s absence from the minicamp, which was set to start Tuesday afternoon, have more to do with his contract status or recovery? That has yet to be answered, though head coach Pete Carroll will assuredly be asked when he talks to the media later this week.

The 24-year-old Metcalf was a second-round NFL Draft selection by the Seahawks in 2019 out of Ole Miss, and he’s been a star pretty much since Day 1 for Seattle. A Pro Bowl selection in 2020, Metcalf has had more than 900 yards receiving in each of his three seasons as a pro. While his yardage dropped last year (967 compared to a Seahawks single-season record 1,303 in 2020), he caught a career-high 12 touchdowns in 2021.

Metcalf is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is due to make a base salary of just under $4 million this season, and while Seattle could pick up his fifth-year option, this point in Metcalf’s career is typically the time Seattle negotiates a contract extension for a player of Metcalf’s caliber. Not that a contract extension has always seemed like a sure thing this offseason.

Following Seattle’s blockbuster trade of quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos in March, trade rumors focused around Metcalf were rampant, especially after star wideouts Davante Adams (Green Bay to Las Vegas) and Tyreek Hill (Kansas City to Miami) were both dealt by their old teams and signed to lucrative contract extensions by their new ones. Those rumors with Metcalf died down before the NFL Draft, however, and have been practically nonexistent since the draft.

More on the story: Seahawks’ Adams, Diggs present at minicamp, Metcalf not

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