Through five games, Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf has picked up five penalties, one of which came during last Sunday’s 17–13 loss to the Bengals.
One of the penalties even resulted in a fine of $10,927 after he was flagged for unnecessary roughness committed against Rams defensive back Ahkello Witherspoon in Week 1.
Despite being made the center of attention on the Seahawks offense, the 25-year-old has no intentions of mixing up his play style in order to draw less flags.
“I’m not going to change the way I play,” Metcalf said on Wednesday, via ESPN.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll isn’t letting Metcalf off easy, though. Each week, Carroll writes the names of the players who earned penalties on a board so the team can talk about what the issues are and how to fix them going into the next week’s preparation.
“He knows. He’s got to clean it up,” Carroll said. “We have to make sure we’re aware of how they’re calling stuff. He’s a very aggressive player, very physical and it stands out and he draws attention because of that. So we’ve got to be cleaner. He knows it and he’s got to get it done.”
Even though Carroll seems to think this weekly board meeting is working, Metcalf doesn’t seem phased by it.
“It was just a board to me,” Metcalf said. “If you look at the penalties, it was a taunting, unnecessary roughness, face mask, holding and I think it was one more in there (an illegal blindside block). So I’m doing pretty good if I look at it and judge myself, how I play. I just try to be consistent and have clean hands or whatever the case may be, but I’m not going to change who I am as a player or a person.”
At the end of the day, both Metcalf and Carroll attribute the receiver’s “competitiveness” as the main reason he’s been penalized so much this season.
As for his impact on offense, Metcalf has totaled 337 yards and two touchdowns on 22 catches in Seattles opening five games.
