DK Metcalf trade rumors and reports just won’t die.

A segment of fans keeps insisting the Seahawks should trade their star receiver, and some even think the Hawks were trying to use him to trade up in last weekend’s draft – probably based on speculation from anonymous league sources to The Washington Post.

But there was no legitimate report indicating that Seattle was shopping Metcalf. In fact, the report that the Hawks allegedly tried to get into the top 10 for Michael Penix Jr. was debunked by both Curtis Crabtree and Brady Henderson.

Now there is scuttlebutt that Pittsburgh has called Seattle about a possible deal to reunite Metcalf with Russell Wilson. No surprise, considering the Steelers reportedly were trying to get Brandon Aiyuk from the 49ers.

As fun as a Wilson-Metcalf reunion would be for the rest of the league to see, the Hawks actually have never shown an inclination to trade their star receiver — and they certainly seem better off with him than trading him for some extra cap space and a first-round pick.

They certainly will be able to afford to keep him.

Before signing Metcalf to a $72 million deal in 2022, John Schneider did express “shock” over the big money receivers were getting. Three more just got paid even bigger money last month, dropping Metcalf to seventh in APY among league receivers.  

At the 2022 owners meetings, fourth months before he extended Metcalf, Schneider said, “This is the market. … There is a bit of ‘whoa’ (over salaries). … You have to figure out: Where’s the cap going? What it’s going to look like? How do you build your team?”

He didn’t let it stop him then. And, two years later, the cap has exploded with new TV revenue and the Hawks absolutely could continue to build the team with Metcalf as a centerpiece of the offense.

The cap blew up in 2024, with a 13.6% jump. No one knows about 2025, but a standard 8% increase would put it at $275 million. That would give the Hawks a projected $18 million in cap space before any moves.

Trading Metcalf after June 1 would add $22 million, but extending him still could save $13 million or so (his big hits would come in 2026-28). That would be $31 million in cap space.

Tyler Lockett, 32, redid his deal this year, and the conventional wisdom says he will not be on the team in 2025. That move alone should have been message enough to all that the Hawks plan to keep Metcalf.

Moving Lockett would save $17 million and could push the Hawks’ space to around $48 million – enough to do everything they will need to do next offseason.

That would be possible even with Geno Smith’s $38.5 million cap hit in place. So, whether Metcalf is there or not, the Hawks should have plenty of flexibility to keep Smith for another year if he plays well in 2024.

If Schneider does not want to pay Metcalf $30 million a year, he should indeed trade him this summer – so the new staff wouldn’t waste time building an offense around him and the acquiring team (Pittsburgh or whoever) would have two years of Metcalf and be willing to give up the requisite first-round pick (and whatever else) for that privilege.  

That said, we don’t think the Hawks want to get rid of their offensive centerpiece – and, as we just illustrated, they certainly don’t have to.