DK Metcalf requests trade, Seahawks release Tyler Lockett
The Seahawks have a busy day at wide receiver on Wednesday
The Seahawks released Tyler Lockett on Wednesday, ending a career in Seattle that ranks second all-time in every major receiving category behind only Steve Largent. The move saves $17 million in cash and cap.
In 10 seasons, Lockett totaled 661 catches, 8,594 yards, 61 touchdowns (all second in franchise history) and he is also one of the best returners that the Seahawks have ever had.
While “WE LOVE YOU, TYLER” messages were going around for Lockett, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport reported that DK Metcalf has requested a trade and that the Seahawks are going to explore it.
In another post Wednesday, I explain why the Seahawks won’t get a first round pick for DK Metcalf, as well as what their best offers will probably look like and predict where DK will end up.
The Metcalf trade request will come as a surprise to many but this very situation in 2025 is one that I’ve been writing would probably end up happening at least a year ago, if not longer:
For how much longer the Seahawks will keep it that way with Metcalf is perhaps the most important decision that John Schneider has to make in the next 14 months. And it’s something that Seattle could take care of right now, or they could wait until the relationship is beyond repair, but I do not expect Metcalf to enter the 2025 season on the Seahawks and with his current contract.
Either the team will change or the contract will change in the next 14 months.
It has only ever made sense that Metcalf would either want a lucrative contract extension or a trade in 2025 and this situation is something that anyone could have predicted would happen without any sources necessary.
Tyler Lockett’s Seahawks career
His 100 receptions in 2020 set a franchise record that has since been tied by Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2024. Lockett’s 1,175 yards in 2021 is the seventh-best such season in Seattle history, and he twice caught 10 touchdowns (2018, 2020), which has only happened 16 times in franchise history.
Lockett also goes down as one of the best draft picks in Seahawks history and one of John Schneider/Pete Carroll’s best draft trades as the team moved up from 95 to 69 in 2015 by giving Washington a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth.
Furthermore, Tyler Lockett is one of the best veteran bargains that Seattle has ever had, especially because the team locked him down to an extension three years into his career despite the fact that by then we had no idea how good he would become. I think that really speaks to how respected Tyler Lockett is behind the scenes because the Seahawks rarely go out of their way to extend a player before they really have to and in this case they did it for someone who had averaged 600 yards per season to that point.
But over the next three seasons, Lockett averaged 1,025 yards and 9 touchdowns per year, which earned him a third contract and even on that he’s outlasted most receivers. Not many receivers make it to 30, but Lockett says he wants to continue playing at 33.
It just appears that won’t be with Seattle.
The Seahawks absolutely had to make this move and that’s why I had Seattle releasing five players right off the bat in my offseason plan from a month ago: Lockett, Dre’Mont Jones, George Fant, Roy Robertson-Harris, and Rayshawn Jenkins. The other four were released on Tuesday.
These five moves take the Seahawks from being over the 2025 cap to having $32.5 million in space going into free agency next week, but fans should expect that number to keep changing.
In that same exact post from a month ago, I also had the Seahawks trading DK Metcalf to save $18 million.
DK Metcalf trade market
Seahawks fans want a first round pick for DK Metcalf? Good luck with that.
As I wrote a month ago, wide receiver is a BUYER’S MARKET and there are too many options out there to think that any of them are going to be the first PLAYER since 2022 to command a first round pick in trade. As I furiously write this article, both Lockett and Christian Kirk have been released. Davante Adams was released this week. Cooper Kupp is on the verge of being released. The list goes on and on, which is why Deebo Samuel was traded for a fifth.
Despite the 2025 wide receiver class being called bad by most analysts, that usually just means it doesn’t have a lot of first round home runs.
Go back to JSN’s “bad” receiver class in 2023 and you’ll find Puka Nacua in the fifth, Jayden Reed in the second, Josh Downs and Tank Dell in the third. Is it better to draft a receiver in the third and the fourth or trade a first round pick for Metcalf and also pay him what he thinks he’s worth?
Metcalf could have a lot of suitors because of his unique position as a big, fast “X” receiver — there are less of those available — but because he turns 29 in 2026, the first year of an extension, that should give teams pause. They could instead trade for Tee Higgins, who is two years younger.
There is a lot more to say about this but we need to get the news out first and then I will follow up this week with more information on what to expect. If you want to support Seaside Joe’s newsletter, consider a premium subscrition upgrade to Regular Joes or Super Joes:
Seattle’s next decision is Uchenna Nwosu
That was supposed to happen last month, but the Seahawks and Nwosu agreed to pushback his roster bonus deadline in order to hammer out a solution that either keeps him in Seattle or allows him to be paid by a different team via trade. That’s my guess, at least.
As John Gilbert pointed out for Field Gulls recently, the Seahawks may be hesitant to release Nwosu because he might have felt his $6 million roster bonus was promised to him as incentive for signing the extension that he did in 2023. That may be true and releasing Nwosu may carry some blowback, but keep in mind that Nwosu has essentially been paid $20 million for six games.
If the Seahawks had allowed Nwosu’s contract to expire in 2023, then $20 million is the amount he’s made OVER the original deal he signed in Seattle in 2021. Since signing that contract, Nwosu has missed 22 of a possible 34 games, including 11 games in the first season of his extension. That equals $20 million for six games.
Maybe Seattle has to chalk that up to a bad deal on their end, which happens to every team, but how much more money do the Seahawks need to pay a linebacker who never plays? Nwosu is owed $20 million more in 2025 ($6m bonus, $14.5m salary, $500k workout bonus) and if he gets hurt again, Seattle could end up paying $40 million for a smattering of appearances by an edge rusher who is not Nick Bosa or Myles Garrett.
Even if you love Nwosu, Seattle’s hesitation to triple down on his health and production is an understandable cause for concern.
Once the Seahawks figure out Nwosu and Metcalf, then it’s onto decisions for Geno Smith and potentially Noah Fant.
How much money does Seattle want for 2025? How much do they need? Are they comfortable with where they are now?
If the Seahawks are UNCOMFORTABLE — and coming off of another missed playoff seasons that’s understandable — that’s probably the feeling they need to have. Even if these conversations are difficult, they’re necessary.
Don’t forget the bonus article: DK METCALF TRADE PROJECTIONS
Seaside Joe 2192
I’ve always felt DK sees himself as an elite top receiver and is probably looking for 35 million to start negotiations, The Seahawks are probably miles away from that. If we can get a mid 2nd and a 5th for him we’re better off than paying $35 million a year on an extension. He’ll be a free agent next year and the best we’d get if he plays out his contract is a 3rd round compensatory pick. if we keep him and he plays out his contract, we take a $31 million cap hit this year, negating the cap space we’re creating.
I remember you predicting DK requesting a trade, so I’ve been expecting this. In fact I just tweeted a response to someone that you had predicted this. This is just one of the many reasons I subscribe.