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.