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The NFL free agent negotiation period started at 12 a.m. ET on Monday, March 10. Teams are now allowed to negotiate contracts with external free agents. The offseason isn't only about the open market, though, and some teams covet players who are under contract with a different organization. That was the case with the receiver-needy Pittsburgh Steelers, so the team made a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks for DK Metcalf.
The receiver had previously requested a trade, and Seattle seems to be blowing things up. The Steelers traded a second-round pick to the Seahawks. The two teams are also flipping sixth and seventh-round draft selections. It has been a busy offseason already, but how do we grade this trade for both sides?
Steelers add a much-needed receiver
The Steelers have had one of the worst receiving corps in the NFL for a couple of seasons now. George Pickens has had to shoulder a heavy burden for the team's receiver room, and even he isn't a flawless pass catcher. Adding another player to the room was a necessity for Pittsburgh, especially considering it is still unclear who will quarterback the team next season. Regardless of who the next signal-caller will be, they were going to need more weapons to throw the ball to.
The Steelers ranked 27th with 3,264 passing yards last season. The team's tight end, Pat Freiermuth, led the team with only 65 receptions. Pickens added 59 catches, and running backs Jaylen Warren (38) and Najee Harris (36) finished third and fourth on the team in receptions.
DK Metcalf immediately makes the passing game a lot better in Pittsburgh. The receiver from Ole Miss is an athletic freak of nature. He stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 235 pounds, and he already has two Pro Bowl nods to his name. Metcalf's size allows him to win 50/50 balls, but he is also fast and can work as a threat deep down the field. Metcalf hauled in 66 balls for 992 yards last season, and he has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark three times before.
The Seahawks were originally asking for a first-round pick in return, so we have to give the Steelers credit for bringing that price down. The biggest critique against this trade is that Metcalf has a similar play style to Pickens, so some think the team should have brought in a different receiver. Both Metcalf and Pickens are big-bodied players who lack a little bit when it comes to route running. Ironically, they have also both been given the hot head label, too.
Regardless, the receiver room got a whole lot more talented with this acquisition. We saw Davante Adams signed to the Los Angeles Rams on the same day as the Metcalf trade, and the Steelers were smart to target the younger player (Metcalf is 27 years old), even if it did take valuable draft capital to get the deal done.
Grade: A-
Seahawks hit the reset button with DK Metcalf trade
The Seahawks are completely blowing things up and embracing a full-blown rebuild. It was becoming clear that the offensive core of Metcalf, Geno Smith, Tyler Lockett, Kenneth Walker, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba wasn't going to be able to win a championship, so the team traded Smith and Metcalf in separate deals after releasing Lockett.
The team was seemingly stuck in the purgatory that is mediocrity, so getting a bunch of draft capital back in return makes sense. The team didn't get the first-round pick that they reportedly wanted for Metcalf, but that high of a selection always seems overly ambitious. A second-round pick feels about right, and some late-round flipped picks are cherries on top.
Now, the Seahawks have some serious ammunition to start building the roster the way they want during the 2025 NFL Draft. The Seahawks will certainly be worse in 2025 than they were in 2024, but you can't blame the team for understanding where they were and for establishing a clear direction going forward.
Combined with Smith and Locket's departures, though, the Seahawks offense might be years away from being competitive, and that has to be a concern for Seattle's 12th man.
Grade: B-
