Seahawks WR DK Metcalf won’t need surgery, Pete Carroll says

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Monday he was intentionally being “really vague” about the status of receiver DK Metcalf because the team remains unsure how long he will be sidelined – or if he will be sidelined at all – with a knee injury suffered against the Chargers on Sunday.

Carroll said during an afternoon news conference that Metcalf will not need surgery on a patellar tendon injured late in the first quarter of a 37-23 win over the Chargers.

But Carroll also said he can’t say when Metcalf will be back.

“I don’t really have a clue on that one,” Carroll said when asked when Metcalf may be able to play again. “But I know he’s really anxious to try to make his way back and in his mind he wants to try to practice Wednesday. I don’t know if that’s even possible. But he’s still pretty sore today.”

Carroll said the key now will be “how he responds to the treatment and we’ll see what happens.”

Metcalf was injured while leaping for a pass near the goal line on a play with two minutes to play in the first quarter. Metcalf appeared to suffer the injury when he landed awkwardly on his left knee on the incomplete pass.

After being examined on the sidelines, he was carted off the field and then immediately declared out for the rest of the game after playing 20 snaps.

Asked if it could be termed “unlikely” Metcalf will play Sunday against the New York Giants at Lumen Field, Carroll said “I don’t know that. I’m going to leave it wide open on that one. I know what he wants to do, so I’m going to kind of follow him a little bit on this one. I’m sorry. I can’t call it. Let’s give us a couple days to let it cool down, see what’s going on.

“He won’t get extensive work on Wednesday regardless. We’re going to take care of him and make sure we’re doing the right thing and we’ll just see. Unfortunately we don’t know.”

Carroll said after Sunday’s game that X-rays did not reveal any significant damage for Metcalf.

During his regular day-after-game radio show on Seattle Sports 710, Carroll said the team had gotten a “great report” on other exams done on Metcalf and that his injury could be related to an old injury.

Metcalf had one catch for 12 yards before leaving the game.

After he was injured, second-year receiver Dee Eskridge and veteran Marquise Goodwin took over most of Metcalf’s snaps. Goodwin, who played 38 snaps, had two touchdown catches, one before Metcalf was injured and one after, and four catches for a team-high 67 yards overall.

Eskridge, the 56th overall pick in the 2021 draft, had no catches on one target but played a season-high 30 snaps. Rookie Dareke Young also played 17 snaps, his career high.

Should Metcalf have to miss any significant time, the Seahawks will likely rely on those three to help carry the rest of the receiving load after Tyler Lockett unless the team decides to make a move before the trade deadline a week from Tuesday.

“It is important that these guys can contribute,” Carroll said. “… There’s no doubt if DK can’t go this weekend those guys are going to play a bigger part. So we’re going to need them to come through.”

Seattle also has four receivers on its practice squad – former Eagles second-round pick J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Bo Melton, a seventh-round pick in 2022, Cade Johnson and former WSU standout Easop Winston.

If Metcalf were to miss Sunday’s game, it would be the first of his career.

Metcalf played through a foot injury suffered in practice in late September last year and started all 17 games. He has started 55 of 56 games in his Seahawks career.

Metcalf has 31 receptions for 418 yards, ranking second on the team in both categories behind Lockett’s 41 for 468, and also has two touchdown catches.