For the first time since being drafted 64th in 2019, the Seahawks may have to prepare for a game without star receiver DK Metcalf.
During the first quarter of Seattle’s 37-23 win over the Chargers on Sunday, Metcalf suffered a patellar tendon injury while jumping for a melt ball near the end zone. Coach Pete Carroll said Monday that Metcalf will not need surgery, although it is unclear if he will be available to play against the Giants in Week 8. If Metcalf is inactive against New York, it will be the first regular season game of his career. that he misses him.
“I don’t even really have a clue,” Carroll said when asked about a timeline for Metcalf’s return.
“I know he’s really looking forward to trying to come back,” Carroll added. βIn his mind he wants to try training on Wednesday, and I don’t know if that’s even possible. But it’s still pretty bad today. Because there’s no immediate process to go through when it comes to surgeries and stuff like that, they have to see how he responds to the treatment and see what happens.
This season, Metcalf ranks second on the team behind Tyler Lockett in receptions (31) and receiving yards (418). Tight end Will Dissly leads the team with three touchdowns, while Metcalf, Lockett and Marquise Goodwin have two apiece.
The Seahawks (4-3) had the ball four times on Sunday before Metcalf left the game, and he recorded just one catch for 12 yards on two targets (two of his other targets were canceled due to defensive and offensive interference penalties). Metcalf has only played 16 snaps not counting games canceled by penalties.
But the Seahawks continued to have a productive offense without Metcalf, which shows just how dynamic the rest of Geno Smith’s guns can be on offense. It was the second straight week they had won a game in which neither Lockett nor Metcalf led the team in receiving yards. After combining for just 51 yards on four catches in Week 6 β one of their least productive outings since becoming teammates β Seattle’s two highest-paid offensive players have combined for 57 yards on eight catches against the Chargers.
The ability of other wide receivers to step up in the absence of Metcalf this Sunday will be key against a Giants defense that ranks 23rd in EPA per play but is stingy against the pass, allowing just 6.42 net yards per game. attempt, the 10th-highest in the league, according to TruMedia.
If Metcalf can’t play, Goodwin and sophomore receiver Dee Eskridge will see an increase in offensive snaps. Goodwin played a season-high 55.6 percent of Seattle’s offensive snaps in the win over the Chargers and caught four of his five targets for a team-best 67 yards and two touchdowns. Eskridge played 44.4% of Seattle’s offensive snaps against Los Angeles but was only targeted once, which Smith threw into the turf while under pressure on a play-action concept .
Eskridge has just six catches for 55 yards this season while Goodwin, a 10-year veteran, has 10 receptions for 146 yards.
“There’s no doubt that if DK can’t get there this weekend, those guys will play a bigger role,” Carroll said. “We’re going to need them to get through.”
Listed at 5-foot-9, 183 pounds, Goodwin was acquired this offseason to stretch the defense vertically, but he has the potential to do a bit of everything, as he demonstrated in his breakthrough against the Chargers. He put the Seahawks on the board with a 20-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter on a fly ball at third-and-14. This play illustrated Seattle’s intention to involve Goodwin even when Metcalf is healthy.
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On that touchdown, which Metcalf was on the field for, Goodwin lined up outside the numbers with cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. playing off-man coverage. Goodwin used his speed to create separation high up the road near the 5-yard line and just blew through the defensive back for an easy score. Three plays earlier, Goodwin drove a crossover route from the slot and was wide open for a 21-yard reception to move the chains on third-and-first.
Later in the match, after Metcalf was injured, Goodwin managed a 21-yard screen pass, but it was canceled out by a penalty over Eskridge. Goodwin also caught a 3-yard pass from the slot and a 23-yard touchdown pass as an outside receiver late in the second quarter. On the second touchdown, Smith again went to Goodwin on his initial read, trusting him to win one-on-one, this time against stud cornerback JC Jackson.
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Goodwin’s ability to make himself available on short, middle and deep passing concepts explains Carroll’s confidence in the veteran to step in in Metcalf’s absence.
“He has a lot of gifts,” Carroll said. “With DK slowed down a bit, his opportunities will increase. We won’t hesitate to go all out with him. He’s in command of the whole offense.
Eskridge did not show the same versatility. Listed at 5-9, 190 pounds with a thicker build than Goodwin, the 2021 second-round pick has been used more as a gimmick player, with the Seahawks trying to get the ball to him on the perimeter via sweeps at the fly. But in Week 6 against Arizona, Eskridge had three catches for 39 yards on plays where he was either the first read or the concept forward. He lined up in the backfield as a running back against Los Angeles and continues to be the primary kickoff returner.
Carroll intended to bring Eskridge in slowly, believing that by mid-season he would be a regular contributor on offense. Metcalf’s injury will speed up this timeline.
“Eskridge has really started to feel comfortable, and he’s showing you the explosiveness and the toughness,” Carroll said. “He always shows novelty, but he’s fine.”
Seattle is thin at wide receiver beyond Goodwin and Eskridge. Dareke Young, a seventh-round rookie, has had just 22 offensive snaps this year, including 15 against the Chargers. He was not targeted. Penny Hart, currently struggling with a hamstring injury, had a catch for 15 yards on nine offensive snaps. On the practice squad, the Seahawks have JJ Arcega-Whiteside, seventh-round rookie Bo Melton, Cade Johnson and recently acquired Easop Winston.
With that range of internal options, Seattle could consider bringing in outside help before the Nov. 1 trade deadline, especially if Metcalf’s knee doesn’t immediately respond well to treatment.
The AthleticNFL editors collected a list of potential trade candidates on each team last week. The list includes several wides: Amari Rodgers of Green Bay, Jerry Jeudy of Denver, Marquez Callaway of New Orleans, Kadarius Toney of the Giants and Scotty Miller of Tampa Bay. Not included are two Jets receivers who requested trades, Elijah Moore and Denzel Mims.
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NFL trade deadline picks for all 32 teams: Jerry Jeudy, Cam Akers and more
Jeudy, a 2020 first-round pick, leads that group in receiving yards (386), touchdowns (two) and first catches (17). He would also be the most expensive in case Denver wants to make another deal with the Seahawks, who, due to the Russell Wilson trade, have Denver’s first- and second-round picks in the 2023 draft, as well as their own selections in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds. Seattle also has Pittsburgh’s fifth-round pick due to Ahkello Witherspoon’s trade.
As a high draft pick on a team-friendly contract, Jeudy would deserve compensation that would likely fall somewhere between the blockbuster deal for Tyreek Hill and the deals here you can have him that took Jalen Reagor and Robbie away. Anderson of their respective teams. . Reagor, also a 2020 first-round pick, was dealt to Minnesota in exchange for a seventh in 2023 and a conditional fourth in 2024, while Anderson, a disgruntled veteran, was sent to Arizona in exchange for a sixth in 2024 and a seventh in 2025.
It would likely take a Day 2 pick to get Jeudy, who owes a prorated amount of his base salary of $2 million this year and a base of $2.6 million in 2023, with a decision coming this spring. on his fifth-year option for 2024.
Because Metcalf leads Seattle in targets (14) and receiving yards (122) on third down, a low-risk move to bring a potential possession receiver to Miller would also be an option. Miller has a base salary of $965,000 in 2022 and is out of the Bucs’ lineup. He has 10 catches for 79 yards this season.
Another option, should the Patriots make him available, is Kendrick Bourne, who had 800 yards and five touchdowns last season. In the second season of the three-year, $15 million contract he signed in March 2021, Bourne has base salaries of $3.5 million and $4.75 million in 2022 and 2023, respectively. This season, Bourne has played for just 25.9% of New England’s snaps and has 11 passes for 156 yards. This deal might only require a 3 day pick.
Seattle uses 11 more personnel (one TE, three WRs) than any other group at 46.8%, so the team must have several reliable expansions on the game day roster. Seattle ranks third in the EPA by game out of 11 staff, behind only Kansas City and Buffalo, per TruMedia. But he’s using 12 staff (two TEs, two WRs) and 13 staff (three TEs, one WR) at the highest rates in the league. So instead of a trade, the Seahawks could rely on their heavy personnel moving forward.
They rank third in the EPA per game out of 13 staff, in part because of their ability to direct the ball and throw the ball out of this package. Kenneth Walker III’s two touchdown passes on Sunday were on 13.
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The 12-man pack wasn’t as effective, but tight ends were an integral part of the attack nonetheless. While Lockett and Metcalf won most of Smith’s targets, Dissly, Noah Fant and Colby Parkinson were more productive than the rest of the wide receiver room.
“It’s a really wonderful position group for us,” Carroll said.
The Seahawks rank fourth in the EPA by rush, so the other most obvious solution to Metcalf’s potential absence would be to keep running the ball high. But in times when they’re looking to punish teams in the air, expect Smith to fire more individual shots at Goodwin and rely on tight ends to pick up the slack and complement what Lockett brings to the passing game.
(Photo by Marquise Goodwin and DK Metcalf: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
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