Seahawks 'Leader' D.K. Metcalf Admits 'I Overstepped My Boundaries!'

The Seattle Seahawks needed leadership. D.K. Metcalf gave it a try. But now the star receiver is generously admitting to a mistake.

It's not that D.K. Metcalf fails to possess "leadership qualities.'' That isn't true, and that isn't what the Seattle Seahawks star is saying about a "mistake'' of sorts he made as the club entered a changing-of-the-guard era in 2022.

Consider the scene and one gets the admission. Seattle traded away the franchise quarterback Russell Wilson; there goes the obvious "leader'' on offense. The Seahawks also cut six-time first-team All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner; there goes the obvious "leader'' on defense.

So what should an established star try to do? Metcalf tried to step up. But ..

“When you lose guys like Bobby and Russ, you try to force yourself into roles that you think you can fulfill,” Metcalf said of his attempt to be a "vocal leader'' rather than simply "leading by example,'' as had been his custom. “It was fairly new to me ... And that just wasn’t my role.''

Metcalf went so far as to admit that there were times when he "overstepped boundaries'' in a well-meaning attempt to fill the void, adding that it was out of character for him to do so.

"I didn’t do it for a reason leading up to that point,'' said Metcalf, at 25 a four-year vet. "I’m a guy that works hard and leads by example.”

In the end, most of what the 6-4, 235-pound Metcalf did worked out. He caught 90 balls for 1,046 yards and six TDs and helped Seattle surprise many with a playoff berth. And for 2023? He's back to filling a leadership role that fits ... a process aided by the fact that Wagner is back with the Seahawks and the fact that Geno Smith has been outstanding as Wilson's replacement at QB.

“That’s Geno's role, to be a vocal leader,'' Metcalf said. "He’s the quarterback, the one calling the plays, he’s the one saying ‘hut’.”

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