Seattle Seahawks WR DK Metcalf ‘focused on football’, praises athletics stars after debut

RENTON, Wash. – Most Seattle Seahawks veteran players have returned to team headquarters this week after being absent from much of the voluntary offseason program.

For DK Metcalf, this means a return to daytime work after he has turned his main sport into athletics. The Pro Bowl receiver ran 10.37 in the 100m at the U.S. Athletics Event last month, performing better than some expected, but not good enough to reach its goal of reaching the Olympics.

In the first comments to reporters after the post-race interview, Metcalf hinted he could give it another shot on the road.

“My goal was to try to get into the Olympics, but who knows what my future holds,” he said Tuesday. “I live everything day by day, I take it day by day and now I’m just focused on football and OTA.”

Metcalf said he will follow U.S. athletics on Twitter and stay involved in upcoming trials. His interest in the event sparked when the USATF account tweeted lightly an invitation to NFL players to test their speed “against real speed” in the Olympics. This tweet was the day after Metcalf was immediately after the pursuit of the famous Arizona Cardinals Budda Baker.

“When they sent the tweet out, I thought it was an open invitation for me to take it and I went along,” Metcalf said.

Metcalf spoke with coach Pete Carroll and new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron at least once a week, leading his participation in the USATF Golden Games and Distance Open, adding that the Seahawks were “100 percent” behind him. Linebacker Bobby Wagner, director of player engagement Mo Kelly and director of equipment Erik Kennedy attended the event in Walnut, California.

“I thought it was a miraculous challenge that DK took on,” Carroll said last month. “DK is a very special individual, and a special person would even need to think about doing it.”

The generally mentioned time that Metcalf would probably have needed to run to get to the Olympic trials was 10.2 or better. But Metcalf’s time of 10.37 was generally considered impressive, given that he is much bigger (6-4, 235 pounds) and much less experienced than the professional sprinters he competed for.

The most surprising thing Metcalf learned in his sprint attempt?

“That these are fast people,” he said. “They’re very fast and very good at doing, and I’m going to stick with football now.”

Metcalf, Wagner and quarterback Russell Wilson were among several Seahawks who announced the team’s seventh of ten OTAs on Monday. In April, Seahawks players issued a statement stating that they will not engage in voluntary personal work during this offseason. But according to the mandatory minicamp schedule, next week the team leaders recently decided to appear for the final week of the OTA.

A handful of veteran players – including safety factors Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, left tackle Duane Brown, return Chris Carson, receiver Tyler Lockett and defensive head Carlos Dunlap – were not seen on Tuesday’s OTA. Metcalf said more players will arrive this week.