Good morning, 12s. Here's a look at what's out there today — Tuesday, February 15 — about your Seattle Seahawks.
DK Metcalf Opens Up About Mental Health Journey
Over the past three years, 12s and fans of football everywhere have watched DK Metcalf blossom into a superstar wide receiver in the NFL. After falling to the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Metcalf showed that he was arguably the best receiver in his draft class by posting 58 catches for 900 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie.
Those numbers improved in Metcalf's second year (83 rec., 1,303 yards, 10 touchdowns), earning the Ole Miss product a second-team All-Pro nod and a selection to the NFC Pro Bowl team. While Metcalf's yards and receptions numbers leveled off a bit in 2021 as the Seahawks offense dealt with some struggles, the third-year receiver still set a new career-high with 12 touchdown catches on the season.
Yet, for as much work as Metcalf has put in to improve himself on the football field, it's clear that he's worked to improve himself off of it as well. Recently, Metcalf sat down with Taylor Rooks of Turner Sports to discuss his journey with mental health and learning to control his emotions during the past season, which has included seeing a therapist, as well as taking advice from veteran teammate Bobby Wagner.
"I was battling with a lot of old habits that I was doing," Metcalf said. "Like last year and my rookie year, I was able to get away with grabbing somebody's face mask or talking smack and the ref not hearing me, but it's a lot of eyes on me now, and I didn't realize that."
Metcalf mentioned that Bobby Wagner pulled him aside and told him to think about his future, which was something of a wake-up call. "He was like, 'Look, you're not the same DK. You're not a rookie anymore, you're not a second-year player. You're a superstar, so start acting like one. People are always going to try to get under your skin, so just be above it.'"
Besides talks with teammates, friends, and family, Metcalf says that getting professional help from a therapist has changed his outlook on not just football, but life as a whole. "It helped me a lot, just with my viewpoint on life and how I carry myself, and just everything in general," he said. "I see life and football differently. I cherish it more. I cherish relationships more. I don't get as angry anymore, because I'm above it all."
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