Seahawks’ Carroll: Metcalf ‘has to elevate above’ penalties
More Teams. More Games.
With the Seahawks trailing by 14 in the final minutes, DK Metcalf comes up from behind Ahkello Witherspoon and shoves him to the ground. (0:19)
RENTON, Wash. — DK Metcalf‘s latest 15-yard penalty led to a long talk with Pete Carroll on Sunday night, and the Seattle Seahawks coach hopes the message will finally stick with his star wide receiver.
“We’ll wait and see how that goes,” Carroll said in his afternoon news conference Monday, after mentioning the postgame conversation with Metcalf earlier in the day on his weekly radio show. “He was great talking about the end of the game and all that stuff. We had a great conversation, very serious, man-to-man down to it. He wants to be great and he wants to do everything he can to be great, and so we’ll figure it out.”
Metcalf was penalized for taunting late in the fourth quarter of the Seahawks’ surprising 30-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, it was the eighth time in his career that he’s been flagged for either taunting, unsportsmanlike conduct, unnecessary roughness or disqualification — the most in the NFL since he debuted in 2019.
In 2021, Metcalf acknowledged that he had to be more disciplined in heated moments, saying that defenders were trying to bait him into losing his cool — and often succeeding. But the problem has persisted.
“DK and I talked for a long time last night about [how] that’s not what we can allow to happen because that means that they can control him and get after him,” Carroll said on his Seattle Sports 710-AM radio show Monday. “So, he has to elevate above that. So it’s a challenge. This is nothing new. DK’s been an emotional, feisty, fiery player since the day he got here, and that is who he is. But he has to also manage that so they don’t take advantage of it.”
The taunting penalty occurred at the 4:35 mark of the fourth quarter Sunday with the Seahawks trailing by 14 points. Metcalf shoved cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to the ground with a block from the side at the end of a play, upsetting Rams players and coaches. Witherspoon, who spent the 2021 offseason with the Seahawks, remained on the ground in apparent pain. The flag was the result of the jawing that ensued between Metcalf and the Rams’ sideline as the two teams were lining up for the next play.
Instead of a second-and-2 from their own 43, the Seahawks faced second-and-17 from the 28 and punted after sacks on consecutive plays.
“I seen their coaches yelling at me or saying something to me, and their players, and I let that get to me and I retaliated,” said Metcalf, who caught three passes for 47 yards and scored Seattle’s only touchdown. “The second man always gets called. I’ve just got to be better in that aspect.”
Also on Monday, Carroll confirmed an NFL Network report that the Seahawks plan to bring in veteran left tackle Jason Peters for a visit. Seattle’s interest in the 41-year-old Peters — a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time first-team All-Pro — comes as both of the team’s starting tackles deal with injuries that knocked them out of the opener. Carroll said right tackle Abe Lucas (patellar) and left tackle Charles Cross (toe) are day-to-day.
Asked if the interest in Peters is a sign that Cross’ injury is bad, Carroll noted that both tackles are injured and that the team is “a little concerned” about their statuses. Peters has played only 46 snaps at right tackle since 2007, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He played in 10 games last season for the Dallas Cowboys, making one start.
Safety Jamal Adams is still on track to begin practicing this week, per Carroll, though he’ll likely be limited. Adams, who missed most of last season after suffering a torn quad tendon in the opener, has taken part only in walk-throughs since he was activated off the physically unable to perform list on Aug. 24.
Carroll said on his radio show there’s “a really good chance” that rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon makes his NFL debut Sunday at the Detroit Lions. Witherspoon, the fifth overall pick, wasn’t ready to play in the opener after missing most of training camp because of a hamstring injury.