Seahawks’ WR DK Metcalf is signing a three-year, $72 million extension that includes $58.2 million guaranteed, per source. Deal includes $30 million signing bonus, the highest ever for a WR. Metcalf will be a free agent again at 27 years old.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 28, 2022
It was vital the Seahawks agreed terms for Metcalf.
As we’ve discussed previously, there was no justification for this dragging on deep into training camp. There were plenty of precedent setting deals to use as a framework, including similarly productive players drafted in the same range (A.J. Brown) and other top performers.
One way or another, the two sides had to come together. Financially it made sense for Metcalf, playing on a wildly outdated rookie deal. For the Seahawks, they committed to the player when they didn’t trade him pre-draft.
On paper it looks like a shorter deal so that Metcalf can reach the market again quicker than some of his peers with a bigger up-front commitment of $30m guaranteed. I am in no way shape or form a cap ‘expert’. If anything, I’d describe myself as the opposite of that. However, on first glance it looks like a good compromise for both parties and a contract that makes a lot of sense.
We’ll wait to see the finer details but this looks like a win-win situation.
I can’t wait to watch Will Levis throwing him the ball in 2023.
Meanwhile, here are some training camp observations from Curtis Allen after day one:
What I saw of the players with injury questions
Tyreke Smith opened camp on the PUP list. Pete Carroll said after practice that he ran well today in a separate workout and could be off the list soon.
That follows with what I saw today. His reason for being on the PUP appears to be of the less-concerning variety. He tailed the defensive end/pass rusher group through all their drills without his helmet on but seemed loose and even danced a little to the music playing.
Tre Brown appeared but seemed less-active to me than Smith. Carroll also said he should be off the PUP soon but just based on my viewing, Smith is closer to being ready to practice.
D’Wayne Eskridge took some punts but did not participate in the scrimmage. Carroll said he had some hamstring tightness.
Quandre Diggs looks fantastic. He did not wear any kind of leg or knee brace and was a full participant in warmups and drills and played in the scrimmage. At one point he did a backpedal drill and looked very comfortable really giving it a go. It appears he has recovered very well. Now it is the mental aspect of re-trusting his legs and making his reads.
Rashaad Penny – not injured but always an injury concern – looked great. He has always been a really good-looking athlete, so I am stating the obvious. But I did not see any hesitation or lack of burst in his first day out. He ran hard, ran through the line (a light-tackling type scrimmage to be fair) and when he cleared the crowd he accelerated all the way to the end zone multiple times. At one point Diggs gave chase and could not catch him.
Rookie Report
The Seahawks had a great draft class this year and it shows. All of these guys have a ‘wow’ factor just by the way they look physically and the way they carry themselves in warmups and practices.
Cross and Lucas just stand out, even when warming up in the OL group next to gigantic human beings Greg Eiland and Stone Forsythe. They are built differently, have a different fluidity and confidence about them. They get into their stances with a more athletic posture than the others do. That’s the best way I can put it.
They did not come out and stone pass rushers or flatten anyone in the scrimmages but remember, it is the first day of camp and they did not wear pads. The future looks bright at the tackle position.
Kenneth Walker also has an uncommon build. Standing next to similarly sized players like Josh Johnson and Darwin Thompson, you see the difference immediately. They’re all listed about the same on the roster sheet but Walker has tree trunks for thighs and broad shoulders to carry a load.
He looked great in the scrimmages. He trusted his reads and hit the hole without hesitation at times. In other reps, he showed what we saw in his college tape: take the snap and a step, hesitated to let a block clear up and then accelerated strongly. He also ran to daylight as soon as he got through the DL and had DB’s chasing him down the field. A welcome sign after being lightly chastised by Pete Carroll for not being in the best of shape in minicamp.
Boye Mafe also looked the part of a pass rusher. He did warmups with the LBs but shifted to drills with the DEs — a welcome sight. Even watching him do low-key hand-fighting drills with a coach was enjoyable. At one point they did a drill requiring players to bend around a blocker and Mafe did it seamlessly and fluidly without losing much speed. Players like Aaron Donkor and Vi Jones struggled to do the same drill even half as well.
The rookie star of the day without a doubt in my mind was Cobe Bryant. He just has “it” – a great package of size, speed, skill and confidence. In drills he was lining up off the WR a good three yards. He has that quality where he trusts his instincts and doesn’t panic as a WR is coming at him with 3 full steps and is about to make his break. He is positioned well, trusts his ability and reacts well. In the scrimmage, Drew Lock threw a pretty nice deep ball to a streaking Bo Melton but Bryant was right there step for step to knock it away at the last moment. Textbook.
I am not going to anoint him a starter at LCB based on one practice. But he is not going to just give the job away without a fight. Particularly if he keeps stacking practices like today’s.
Tariq Woolen is a tantalizing prospect. You know about the size, the arm length, the speed. What surprised me was the fluidity with which he moved in drills. He had better hips and footwork than I realized. The rawness might come from his lack of time reading coverages and building instinct so he can react in a timely manner.
I also liked that he didn’t mind getting physical with a WR on a run play in scrimmage. Add a little snarl to that size and speed and the Seahawks may have found a gem.
Best thing I saw today: The pass rush
Again, this was not a padded practice but the pass rush provided all kinds of trouble for the offense in the scrimmage whenever they tried to call a passing play.
Interior lineman Shelby Harris and Quentin Jefferson were a big problem for the centers and guards – Harris at one point ran a swim move so well it was like he was covered in Vaseline and accelerated to the QB. Jefferson likewise had the pocket moving back into the QBs lap.
Uchenna Nwosu came screaming off the edge and was right in Geno Smith’s face and deflected his pass. He got an attaboy fist bump from Pete Carroll for that effort.
If it had been permissible to sack the QB today, the pass rush would have gotten 4 or 5 sacks in about 15-17 pass rushing reps.
Let’s not dwell too much on what that means for the offensive line. Just bask in the glory of the Seahawks fielding a real pass rush.
The quarterback battle
It looks like Geno Smith is still in the lead, as Pete Carroll reaffirmed in his press conference.
He got more scrimmage reps with the #1’s than Drew Lock did.
They ran the ball a lot in the scrimmages so there were not very many opportunities to really see what the QBs can do. They had maybe 15-20 total passes between the three QB’s and the pass rush was right in their face frequently, so it is hard to judge.
But I’m going to do a little bit of that anyway.
Geno Smith looked like Geno Smith. When he has a snap and throw for a small gain, he’s fine. He hit Bo Melton right between the numbers on a quick slant (Melton dropped it but Geno did his job). He found Colby Parkinson leaking out to the weak side and he was able to turn upfield and gain 5 or 6 yards. He hit Noah Fant also inside for a nice gain.
When he is called on to handle a rush and make decisions, that is where things get tricky. His processing speed still does not seem NFL starting QB caliber and he rushed some throws. That said, he did have a dandy of a play where he moved to his right to escape pressure and found Tyler Lockett doing the scramble drill like only he can for a big gainer over Sydney Jones.
Drew Lock. I’m not sure what to say. He had some impressive throws in warmup drills. The ball zips out of his hands and pops to the receiver. He did have the nicely placed deep ball to Melton that Bryant batted away I noted above but that was about it for the scrimmage.
He did not get many reps with the #1’s, and based on today’s scrimmage I did not see a single thing that made me think that was an error in judgement on the leadership’s part.
He looks like he lacks confidence to me. Geno may not be a superstar but he warms up and practices with purpose and gives off a vibe that he is here to win the job. Lock looks unsure of himself and carried himself somewhere between disinterested and unconcerned, assuming he’s going to win the job because of his skillset (I’ll admit it was hard to get a read on him).
Today in the scrimmage he had maybe the worst throw off the worst decision I’d ever seen a professional QB make. He took the snap, moved left to evade some pressure and as approached the left sideline, had a choice to accelerate upfield and gain a few yards with his legs or throw it.
He chose both. After he crossed the line of scrimmage, he launched a wobbly duck across the field to a teammate who was streaking down the far-right sideline – a cardinal QB sin to be sure – and to make matters worse, he was adequately covered. It had the look and feel of a guy just reasoning ‘what the heck, might as well try something crazy to dazzle them at the end of scrimmage.’ The ball fell to the ground and the horn mercifully blew after that awful display, ending the scrimmage.
It was one bad day for Lock. I’m not condemning him forever based on it. But when Pete Carroll keeps going back to the well that Geno knows the offense and therefore has the pole position on the starting job, at this point I totally get it.
Random observations
— I could be totally wrong but it appears the Seahawks have asked the DT’s to slim down a bit. Al Woods and Quentin Jefferson look lighter to me. Mone again displaying effort to turn his back and chase runners down. Maybe this is part of moving to a 3-4, having interior players that are quicker?
— Cody Barton at MIKE and Jordyn Brooks at WILL in scrimmages
— Eskridge, Fuller and Swain fielded punts among others
— The tight ends lined up as halfbacks next to the QB in shotgun and/or were used in motion more than once. That was good to see some creativity there.
— Pete Carroll talked about this maybe being the fastest Seahawks team he’s coached. I get it. Adding Walker, Woolen, Marquise Goodwin, even Abe Lucas and his sub-5.00 40 to Metcalf, Eskridge, Penny and Lockett does seem enticing.
— The crowd there was a fraction of the fans that showed up last year. I understand completely that the star power has taken a hit this offseason but still, I was shocked at the low attendance.
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