Behind the Steel Curtain
When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded for DK Metcalf back in March, fans expected the Steelers to finally have a true alpha wide receiver that their quarterback could rely on. Pittsburgh immediately gave Metcalf a four-year $132,000,000 contract extension, indicating the organization viewed Metcalf as a crucial part of the team’s future. Eight games into his Steelers career, he has only 29 catches on 50 targets. Sunday’s win against the Indianapolis Colts surprisingly marked the wideouts lowest reception and yardage total as a member of the Steelers, which wideout was questioned about.
“Y’all may get frustrated with that shit. We don’t.” Metcalf said during his media availability on Tuesday. “We just trying to win.”
The response was exactly what you would expect from someone like Metcalf as a leader of the offense. However, it’s clear that the receiver deserves the ball more. Even Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger took note of the lack of Metcalf in red-zone situations.
On the latest episode of his podcast, “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger,” the longtime Steelers quarterback was critical of the Steelers’ fourth-and-goal attempt early in the first half of their game this past Sunday.
“They ran a double slant, and I was screaming on the snap, DK, and he put it on Washington. DK’s expecting that ball.” Roethlisberger said. “Mount Washington wasn’t expecting the ball. You saw it hit him right in the chest. It was a great throw.”
Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith also appears unconcerned with Metcalf’s workload. Metcalf simply wants to win. I tend to agree with Roethlisberger in the sense of getting Metcalf the ball more situationally, especially in the red zone. Metcalf has five touchdown catches already this season and could very well see an uptick in his production down the stretch. For now, Metcalf isn’t concerned as long as the team is winning, and he has one of the best quarterbacks in the history of football throwing to him for at least the rest of the season.
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