Sources: Metcalf’s minicamp absence unexcused

RENTON, Wash. — Star wide receiver DK Metcalf was not present Tuesday for the start of the Seattle Seahawks‘ three-day mandatory minicamp.

Sources told ESPN that Metcalf’s absence is unexcused, meaning he’s subject to team fines that would total more than $93,000 if he were to miss all three days.

Metcalf is seeking an extension to his rookie contract and also is recovering from surgery for the foot injury he played through for much of last season. His absence from the start of mandatory minicamp marks something of a turn in his approach, as he was present earlier this spring for portions of the team’s voluntary offseason program. At the time, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll praised Metcalf for showing up amid his unsettled contract situation and recovery from foot surgery.

The news of Metcalf’s absence was first reported by NFL Network.

Metcalf, 24, is in line for a massive extension after recording a combined 216 catches for 3,170 yards and 29 touchdowns over his first three seasons. He has not missed a game since the Seahawks drafted him with the final pick of the second round in 2019.

The Seahawks have maintained that they want to extend Metcalf and, according to a source, are optimistic that a deal will get done. They typically don’t do big-budget extensions for players already under contract until training camp.

But the prospects of Seattle extending Metcalf have seemed less than certain since general manager John Schneider, in a March interview on Seattle Sports 710 AM, expressed “a sense of shock” at how the wide receiver market had skyrocketed because of the megadeals signed by Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams.

The Seahawks received calls from teams interested in Metcalf in the wake of those comments but told suitors they weren’t shopping the receiver, according to a source.

When asked at the owners meetings in late March if he thought a deal would get done with Metcalf, Schneider told reporters, “Yeah, that’s our intent.” Carroll shared a similar sentiment at the time, saying of Metcalf: “We intend for him to be with us. We’d love to figure that out. We’re in a normal kind of mode this time of the year. We’re not to that topic yet specifically because we’ve got so many other things going on. But we’d love to have him. There’s no way I could imagine playing without him.”

The deals that Hill and Adams signed average $30 million and $28 million, respectively.

“It is what it is now, right?” Schneider said at the owners meetings. “This is the market. So we’ll get to that when we get to it. But yeah there is a bit of, ‘whoa,’ but then you have to figure out: OK, well, where’s the cap going? What’s it going to look like? How do you build your team? We do that every day, we’re constantly moving stuff around.”

A.J. Brown has since signed an extension averaging $25 million. Deebo Samuel is also seeking an extension and has reported to San Francisco 49ers minicamp after asking for a trade. Metcalf, Brown and Samuel are all represented by the same agent, Tory Dandy of CAA.

Metcalf told reporters at the end of last season that he expected a deal to get done this offseason. For now, he’s set to make $3.986 million in 2022.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler contributed to this report.

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