Report: DK Metcalf Had No Desire to Play for Steelers AFC Rival
The New England Patriots had significant interest in trading for DK Metcalf, but he had no desire to go to New England, according to Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston.
The Patriots had the money to pay Metcalf, too. New England came into free agency with the most cap space. The star wide receiver just didn’t want anything to do with the Patriots.
“They go in on Metcalf, which Phil [Perry] did a good job of reporting there never was an offer made. I, kind of, in talking to you guys made it sound more like they were never in on him. I’ve come to find out that they were… They had conversations, an offer was not made, that’s correct, but I’ve kind of been redirected from folks outside of New England that they were in on him. He didn’t want to come here,” Curran said on WEEI’s Jones & Keefe.
The Patriots have found their WR1, however. They agreed to terms with Stefon Diggs on a three-year, $69 million deal including $26 million guaranteed on Tuesday night.
During his introductory press conference with the Pittsburgh Steelers, DK Metcalf revealed that former Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson helped sell Pittsburgh to him.
“Last year, I think like halfway through the season, me and Russ had a conversation about how it was living here,” Metcalf said. “And he just told me that I would love it here. I’m waiting to find that out.”
Of course, Metcalf didn’t have a ton of control over where the Seattle Seahawks traded him to, but he did have the choice in signing a massive extension, which he did in the form of five years for $150 million.
Metcalf was said to prefer a warm-weather destination, but he said that wish wasn’t ever made in the first place.
“Yeah, man, we never said none of that,” Metcalf said. “Me and my team never said, ‘Warm city, a contender.’ None of that, man. We just took the trade request and moved forward with the teams that really showed interest. They showed interest from Day 1 and we just built on the relationship that we had from the first conversation.”
Metcalf and the Steelers play the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in 2025. Metcalf spurning New England could add some extra motivation for Mike Vrabel’s unit.