Steelers Now
Former NFL linebacker LaVar Arington did not hold back on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf for getting into an altercation with a fan at Ford Field during the team’s 29-24 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Metcalf will now have to serve a two-game suspension. Arrington thinks Metcalf was selfish and displayed a lack of maturity by getting into it with a fan.
“DK Metcalf, you need to have more control over your emotions, Arrington said on his *2 Pros and a Cup of Joe *podcast. “Stay focused in on the game. You are a major piece to the Steelers’ offense. Grow up. Somebody else is going to get to him. If it’s not that person, it’s going to be somebody else that gets him.
“He’s going to do this in a moment in time where it’s going to cost him, and it’s going to cost others, possibly. He did it during the game. The bottom line is, don’t walk over there. Don’t walk over there to begin with… Handle yourself. This isn’t about everybody else. He needs to tighten up. He needs to tighten up. That’s a lack of self-control and a lack of accountability. It’s a selfish issue.”
Lions fan Ryan Kennedy wanted to “correct the record” during his press conference with legal representation on Friday morning. Kennedy, the fan who was involved in an incident with Metcalf on Sunday, said his family is receiving threats because Metcalf falsely accused him of using a racial slur before forcefully grabbing him.
Kennedy claimed last Sunday that he provoked Metcalf by calling him by his full name. Former Cincinnati Bengals star receiver Chad Johnson said soon after that Metcalf told him Kennedy called him a racial slur and spoke negatively of his mother.
Metcalf will miss the Steelers’ final two regular season games against the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. He’s eligible to return on Jan. 5.
Metcalf’s two-game suspension will cost him $277,778 per game, or $555,556 total for the two games. Rapoport revealed that it could cost him a whole lot more than that.
“Based on his contract, the suspension would void not just the rest of his salary for this season but $45M in future guarantees — $25M fully guaranteed in 2026 and $20M guarantee for injury in 2027,” Rapoport posted on X.
The Steelers are on the cusp of winning the AFC North. All they have to do is beat the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. They can also clinch the division if the Baltimore Ravens lose to the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night.
Time will tell if Metcalf’s decision to go after fan will effect the Steelers on the field.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is looking forward to seeing second-year wide receiver Roman Wilson rise to the occasion.
Wilson has been a healthy scratch the last three games due to the emergence of veteran receivers Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
“One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity,” Tomlin said during his Tuesday...
