All three Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks threw at least one touchdown pass in Saturday’s preseason opener, but rookie Kenny Pickett had the most impressive performance. 

Pickett threw for a pair of touchdowns, including a 24-yarder to Tyler Vaughns with three seconds remaining to lift the Steelers to a 32-25 victory over the visiting Seattle Seahawks. 

Pickett, the 20th overall selection in this year’s draft out of Pittsburgh, is competing with Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph to replace retired two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger as Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback. He certainly did nothing to hurt his chances on Saturday. 

He played the entire second half and led a seven-play, 75-yard drive on his opening possession, completing all five of his passes, culminating in a three-yard TD pass to Jaylen Warren.  

His winning throw in the waning seconds capped a five-play, 43-yard drive. Pickett finished 13-of-15 for 95 yards with two scores, and completed 10 consecutive passes at one point.  

Trubisky, who spent last season as Josh Allen’s backup in Buffalo, led the Steelers to a TD on the opening possession with a 90-yard drive. He was four-of-seven for 63 yards, connecting with Gunner Olszewski on a 13-yard scoring strike. 

Rudolph, Roethlisberger’s backup the past four seasons, led touchdown and field goal drives on the first two of his three possessions. His 26-yard TD pass to exciting rookie George Pickens gave the Steelers a 14-0 lead. Rudolph was nine-of-15 for 93 yards.  

One day after reaching a three-year, $72million contract extension with the Seattle Seahawks, wide receiver D.K. Metcalf came clean with his negotiating process. 

"I was going to be here, as much as I bluffed to [general manager] John [Schneider]," Metcalf said. ''I wasn't leaving, just to let you all know. I wanted to be here. I wanted to play here and I'm glad that we got something done.'' 

Metcalf met the media Friday morning with Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider at his side. 

"It was a stressful process, but glad that it’s over," Metcalf said. 

According to reports, Metcalf’s deal includes a $30m signing bonus, the highest ever for a wide receiver. His $24m yearly average salary ties him with Buffalo’s Stefon Diggs as the NFL’s sixth-highest paid receiver. 

"We had goals that we talked about, both on the team side and our side," Metcalf said. "But this is just an amazing moment to where I do get to help my family and the state of Mississippi and the surrounding communities for years to come."

Metcalf made $911,914 last season, when he had 75 receptions and a career-high 12 touchdown catches despite playing through a foot injury for most of the season. 

His 3170 receiving yards are the most by any Seahawk in his first three seasons, while his 29 touchdowns over that span are one shy of the club record.  

"It just hit me as I was sitting up here. I told my parents, and I was just smiling on the phone," he said. "My mom started crying, dad started crying, but I was just smiling. Then when I sat up here, it just hit me like, it’s here. D.K., it’s time for you to step up." 

After he did not take part in last month’s mandatory mini-camp and watched the first two practices of training camp, Metcalf is expected to participate in the Seahawks’ next practice on Saturday.  

"Seeing him to be so much more than just a football player is a great thrill for me," Carroll said. "Everybody talks about how he’s a great athlete, he’s a beast, he’s all this kind of stuff. I don’t like that talk about him. This guy, he’s a complete person and he has so much to offer."

The Seattle Seahawks have locked up standout wide receiver DK Metcalf with a three-year, $72million contract extension. 

Metcalf’s deal includes a $30m signing bonus – the highest ever for a wide receiver – with $58.2m guaranteed. His yearly salary of $24m ties him with Buffalo’s Stefon Diggs for the sixth-highest total among receivers.  

Metcalf has 216 receptions for 3,170 yards and 29 touchdowns in 49 career games since Seattle selected him with the 64th overall pick in 2019 out of Mississippi. He had 75 catches for 967 yards with a career-high 12 TDs last season. 

The new deal keeps Metcalf with the Seahawks through the 2025 season, with his rookie contract set to expire after this season. He doesn’t turn 25 until December and will be 28 years old when his new deal ends.  

He sat out practice at training camp this week after he missed all three days of mandatory veteran mini-camp in June with an unexcused absence.  

Metcalf and the other Seattle receivers will have a new starting quarterback this season after Russell Wilson was traded to Denver in March. Geno Smith and Drew Lock currently are competing for the starting job.  

Pete Carroll says the Seattle Seahawks can be successful without Russell Wilson and revealed Geno Smith is winning the battle to be starting quarterback.

Wilson's departure to the Denver Broncos ahead of the 2022 season is a massive blow for the Seahawks, having led the team to a first Super Bowl triumph in 2013 and a return to the Super Bowl the following year.

Carroll will have to do it without Wilson in 2022, a big year for the team after the 2021 season saw the Seahawks miss out on a playoff spot for only the second time in 10 seasons.

With Seattle not making a move to land a high-profile replacement, having been linked to Baker Mayfield prior to his move to the Carolina Panthers, questions have been asked about how Carroll will fill the void.

The experienced coach is not concerned, though, referencing his years coaching in college football where he had to adjust his side every year following graduations.

"You went to the next guy. You always miss when the guys leave but you can see it (coming) so you start planning for it, you work and you can find success," he told a news conference.

"I'm taking it in stride, but I'm real determined to make it work.

"There's a lot of developing of the players and giving them the background they need and the substance they need to be able to play like they're capable."

The Seahawks have Smith and Drew Lock competing to be the first choice under center and although Carroll says the former is leading the way, he made it clear there is time for that to change.

"Geno is in the lead. He's ahead and he ain't looking back. He's going for it," he added.

"Drew is not going to take a back seat. Something is going to happen. You will not nail me on that [naming his starter]."

The neck injury that cut short Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson's 2021 season has ultimately ended his career. 

Carson decided to retire on Tuesday after five NFL seasons, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. 

The 27-year-old had failed his physical and the Seahawks are officially releasing him with a failed physical designation, which under the collective bargaining agreement allows Carson to receive several million dollars in injury protection benefits. 

Carson had been hopeful of being healthy enough to play this year after being sidelined since Week 4 of the 2021 season with the serious neck injury. 

When healthy, Carson was one of the top running backs in the league, ranking fifth in rushing yards in 2018 with 1,151 yards and fifth again a year later with a career-high 1,230 yards. 

A seventh-round pick by the Seahawks in 2017, Carson finishes his career with 3,502 rushing yards with 24 rushing touchdowns. 

Upon Carson's retirement, Rashaad Penny and rookie Kenneth Walker III will handle the running back duties for a Seattle team that expects to rely heavily on the ground game with Geno Smith and Drew Lock competing for the starting quarterback job after Russell Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos. 

Penny led the Seahawks with 749 rushing yards last season and his average of 6.29 yards per attempt was the highest in the NFL among all players with a minimum of 100 carries. 

The chairwoman of both the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, Jody Allen, said in a statement on Tuesday that the teams are not for sale at this time. 

There had been reports that an offer was made to buy the Trail Blazers, but Allen's statement dispels any rumours a sale is imminent. 

''As chair of both the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks, my long-term focus is building championship teams that our communities are proud of,'' said Allen, who has overseen both teams since her brother Paul died in 2018.

''Like my brother Paul, I trust and expect our leaders and coaches to build winning teams that deliver results on and off the court and field. As we've stated before, neither of the teams is for sale and there are no sales discussions happening.'' 

Paul Allen's will called for both teams to be sold and the proceeds be given to philanthropic efforts, and Jody acknowledged she plans to honour his wishes, though not at this time.

''A time will come when that changes given Paul's plans to dedicate the vast majority of his wealth to philanthropy, but estates of this size and complexity can take 10 to 20 years to wind down. There is no pre-ordained timeline by which the teams must be sold,'' Jody said. 

Paul Allen purchased the Trail Blazers in 1988 and bought the Seahawks nine years later. Jody Allen has been the trustee for her brother’s estate since the Microsoft co-founder's death.

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll didn’t seem overly concerned that star wide receiver D.K. Metcalf did not attend this week’s mandatory minicamp – subjecting himself to a $93,000 fine in the process – and said he expects a new contract to get finished this offseason. 

Metcalf, who is in line for a huge extension as he enters the final year of his rookie contract, stayed away from camp this week in a somewhat surprising decision. He did attend the voluntary portion of team’s workout program earlier this spring amid his unsettled contract situation and his recovery from foot surgery. 

Because his absence to the mandatory portion of camp was unexcused, he accumulated fines worth over $93,000 for missing all three days, but when Carroll was asked if the team plans to impose those fines, he declined to answer, citing his policy on not publicly discussing such matters. 

Carroll did, however, express the desire to have Metcalf back with the team, and said he had faith in general manager John Schneider's abilities to get a deal done.

"A decision had to be made," Carroll said. "We missed him. He had done a nice job of contributing, being part of everything we had done and then he is just not here.

"So I can’t say much about for what he hasn’t done here, but we’d love to have him with us. We've been through this for years, you know [with other star players] – and it's a challenging time. 

"We've had so many high-profile guys that have gone through this process – and how's that worked out for us? We figured it out in time.

"[Schneider] is on it, and he's as experienced as you can get at handling this stuff, and D.K.'s got great representation, and D.K. is a heck of a kid.'' 

Metcalf is due to earn about $3.99million for the upcoming season, and he figures to be in line for an extension similar to those awarded to new Philadelphia Eagle A.J. Brown, and reigning Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams, in excess of $20m per year. 

The 24-year-old has not missed a game since Seattle selected him with the 64th overall pick in the 2019 Draft, and has accumulated 216 receptions for 3,170 yards with 29 touchdowns.  

It appears Seattle Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf has taken notice of the mega-deals handed out to some of the NFL’s top pass-catchers this offseason – and he believes it is his turn.

Metcalf did not attend the Seahawks’ first day of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The absence was unexcused, meaning Metcalf is subject to a fine of $14,775 for skipping the first day, as well as additional fines of $29,550 and $44,325 if he misses the second and third days this week, potentially totalling over $93,000.

Entering the final year of his rookie deal, Metcalf has been actively seeking an extension this offseason, although contract talks have clearly not been progressing in a fashion that satisfies Metcalf and his management. The big-play receiver is recovering from surgery on a foot injury he played through for most of last season.  

Metcalf’s decision comes after Seattle general manager John Schneider expressed dismay at how the wide receiver market had skyrocketed because of massive contracts signed by Tyreek Hill with the Miami Dolphins (four years, $120m) and Davante Adams with the Las Vegas Raiders (five years, $141m).  

This led to speculation that Metcalf could be traded, but while the team did reportedly receive calls on the star wideout, the Seahawks told teams they weren’t interested in parting ways with the 24-year-old.  

Metcalf has 216 receptions for 3170 yards and 29 touchdowns in three seasons with the Seahawks since he was selected 32nd overall in the 2019 draft out of Mississippi. His 29 TDs are tied for fifth in the NFL since the start of the 2019 season.  

Russell Wilson is determined not to be caught up in the emotion of his Week 1 return to Seattle after leaving the Seahawks for the Denver Broncos.

Wilson's 10-season career on the Seahawks, which included their Super Bowl XLVIII success, ended this offseason with his trade to the Broncos.

The 2022 NFL schedule release then threw up an early treat, with the Broncos visiting Lumen Field on September 12, in Wilson's first regular season game for the team.

But for all the fond memories the nine-time Pro Bowler has of his team as a Seahawk, his focus will be on a first win in Broncos colours.

"I think it's going to be an exciting time," Wilson told reporters. "Obviously, Seattle's meant the world to me over the past 10 years.

"It's a special place, special place to play, Lumen Field. I have a high regard for all those guys over there and what they do.

"I think, for me, it's non-emotional, though – it has got to be non-emotional.

"You've got to be able to go into it with an understanding that it's just ball – and also understand that there's been amazing times. There's been a lot of touchdowns there, won a lot of games there, so I had a great experience.

"It'll always be a special place in my heart forever. So, for me, it's about going up there and trying to play the best football for our football team here and try to go win."

Crucially, Wilson is set to get in Denver what he was denied in Seattle, an offense shaped entirely around his ability at QB.

New Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett said: "We want to build this thing completely around him and make sure that he's comfortable and watch him come alive."

Pete Carroll does not expect the Seattle Seahawks to trade for Baker Mayfield or another quarterback.

The Seahawks will head into the new season with uncertainty under center for the first time since before they drafted Russell Wilson in 2012.

Wilson was the team's undisputed starter for 10 straight seasons, winning one Super Bowl and losing another, until he was traded to the Denver Broncos this offseason.

The Seahawks received Drew Lock in that trade, but he struggled in three seasons in Denver, while Geno Smith – Wilson's understudy – is an alternative option.

Although Seattle did not draft a QB, they could still have made a big move for a new man, with Mayfield available after the Cleveland Browns signed Deshaun Watson.

But Carroll appeared to rule that possibility out as he outlined the Seahawks' approach to the trade market, albeit not discussing Mayfield directly per league rules.

"We're always competing," the head coach told 93.3 KJR-FM.

"I'm not saying anything you didn't think I was going to say, but fortunately that's always been the way we've operated, and it fits again. So, we're looking.

"I don't see us making a trade for anybody at all. I don't see that happening.

"But we're certainly going to continue to be open to chances to help our club, and meanwhile we're just going to be battling and competing our tails off.

"There's always possibilities, so we keep open to that."

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks will contest the NFL's first regular-season game to be held in Germany.

Munich's Allianz Arena was already known as the venue for the historic fixture, with Germany joining the United Kingdom and Mexico in hosting NFL regular-season games.

Now the matchup is set, with Tom Brady and the Bucs taking the role of home team against one of their NFC rivals.

The Bucs and Seahawks will face off on November 13, when Tampa Bay will likely be heavy favourites following Seattle's 2021 struggles and their subsequent trade of star quarterback Russell Wilson this offseason.

Tampa Bay suffered defeat in each of their three visits to London, though all of those games took place before they acquired Brady in 2020.

The Seahawks beat the then-Oakland Raiders 27-3 in their sole game at Wembley in 2018.

DK Metcalf has been "all smiles" during a chaotic but lucrative offseason for wide receivers, confident he will "get something done" to stay with the Seattle Seahawks.

Since the end of the 2021 NFL season, Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill and AJ Brown have all left their respective teams to land big-money contracts.

Stefon Diggs stayed in Buffalo, but the Bills also had to splash out to keep their star receiver on board.

For Metcalf, an elite pass catcher with one year of his rookie deal remaining, there is clearly an opportunity to get paid.

Adams (34) and Hill (31) are two of only four players to catch more touchdown passes than Metcalf (29) during his three-year career, while he is just the second Seahawk – after Joey Galloway – to tally 900 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons in the league.

Seattle have already lost quarterback Russell Wilson for the 2022 season and will no doubt be keen to commit Metcalf to a new contract, but the 24-year-old remains calm.

"It's all smiles right now, because I know it's just a matter of when," Metcalf told Club Shay Shay when asked about the league-wide investment at wide receiver.

"I can't stress over it, can't think about it too much, because I'd drive myself crazy.

"So, I've just been enjoying this offseason, enjoying life, taking it a day at a time. It may sound cliche, but that's really how I'm living right now."

He added: "We're going to get something done. I think I'm going to be in Seattle for the next coming years."

Former Super Bowl champion Wilson and the 7-10 Seahawks endured a tough final year together, but Metcalf's deep-ball threat continued to cause problems for the opposition in 2021.

Of his 12 TD catches, 10 were on passes of 10 yards or more. The Seahawks completed 21 TD passes of 10 yards or more, the fifth-most in the league, despite completing only 138 total passes of 10 yards or more, the third-fewest in the league.

Metcalf's average depth of target of 13.1 yards was fifth-deepest among wide receivers with 100 or more targets – a category led by team-mate Tyler Lockett (15.2 yards), who caught six TD passes of 10 yards or more.

Marshawn Lynch feels he has achieved "something special" by becoming a minority investor in the Seattle Kraken alongside Macklemore.

Former NFL running back Lynch spent the best part of his career with the Seattle Seahawks.

He was part of the Seahawks team that won Super Bowl XLVIII, scoring a rushing touchdown in the title game as Seattle beat the Denver Broncos.

Lynch had led the NFL in rushing TDs (12) in the regular season and did so again the following year (13), again scoring in the Super Bowl but this time in a defeat to the New England Patriots.

The five-time Pro Bowler announced his retirement after the 2015 season but returned to the NFL and eventually the Seahawks, finishing his career in Seattle in 2019.

And now Lynch is again part of the sports scene in the city, with he and rapper Macklemore – a Seattle native – welcomed on board by Kraken owner Seattle Hockey Partners.

"I've been a part of a lot of things, but this is something I never would have imagined," Lynch wrote on his Twitter page.

"As a young hyena I always dreamed of playing on a professional team but owning one is something special.

"Thank you @SeattleKraken, shout out to @macklemore. Seattle, I'm here. Stand Up!!!"

The Kraken are in their inaugural season in the NHL but sit bottom of the Western Conference's Pacific Division with a 24-44-6 record.

The Los Angeles Rams have signed former Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner on a five-year deal.

Wagner was released by the Seahawks earlier in March, fresh on the back of Russell Wilson's trade to the Denver Broncos, despite having a year to run on his contract.

The 31-year-old visited both the Baltimore Ravens and the Rams over the past week, and he has opted to stay in the NFC West with the reigning champions.

The Rams confirmed the news on their official website on Thursday, with reports suggesting the deal is worth an initial $50million, with a further $15m in incentives.

Wagner spent 10 seasons in NFL with the Seahawks and won the Super Bowl in 2013.

He played at an extremely high level for a struggling Seattle team in 2021, earning his eighth Pro Bowl selection and being named second-team All-Pro.

Since entering the NFL in 2012, only Lavonte David (867) has racked up more tackles than Wagner (817), who is third in pass breakups (60) and joint-fifth in interceptions (11).

A six-time first-team All-Pro, Wagner has recorded at least 104 total tackles in each of his 10 seasons so far.

Pete Carroll believes the Seattle Seahawks "got a really good deal" for Russell Wilson but added they will not be looking to trade another superstar in DK Metcalf.

Long-time Seahawks quarterback Wilson was moved with a fourth-round pick to the Denver Broncos for two first-round picks, two second-round picks and a fifth-round pick, along with Drew Lock, Shelby Harris and Noah Fant.

That deal signalled the end of an era in Seattle, where Wilson had been the starter since being drafted in 2012, winning the Super Bowl in his second season.

Prior to the trade, Carroll had insisted the Seahawks had "no intention of making any move there".

But speaking on Tuesday, the head coach said: "Things change. There was a long period in there working it. I didn't have the intention of going crazy, but we looked at the opportunity.

"Once we got a good look at it, there was reason. We got a really good deal, so we went ahead and made it. It took a long time to get to that, though.

"We had a long process where I didn’t think we would do it. It was such a complicated trade to make."

Given Carroll's wording, Seahawks fans might be concerned by his update on the future of wide receiver Metcalf, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal.

"We intend for him to be with us," Carroll said. "We'd love to figure that out."

However, he added some certainty on the future a 24-year-old who last year had 12 receiving touchdowns – more than either Davante Adams or Tyreek Hill, two players who have this offseason secured huge new contracts following trades.

"We're not on that topic yet specifically, because we've got so many other things going on, but we'd love to have him," Carroll said. "There's no way I could imagine playing without him."

Among those "many other things" is the identity of Wilson's successor under center, even as the Seahawks work to re-sign his former back-up Geno Smith.

The team are "definitely still in the quarterback business," Carroll said. Malik Willis and Kenny Pickett could be options in the draft, but talks with Colin Kaepernick "have not progressed".

For now, former Broncos QB Lock is in the box seat, despite underwhelming across three seasons in Denver in which he earned only 21 starts.

Lock threw 15 interceptions in his sole season as a regular starter in 2020, leading Carroll to acknowledge "there's a lot of turnovers in his game" and "that just doesn't fit with us". "We just have to fix that," he said.

However, the Seahawks coach can also "still see" the "big, strong-armed, mobile, aggressive, athletic quarterback" that came out of college.

"All we're seeing right now is upside," he added.