PITTSBURGH — The Steelers cannonballed into free agency Sunday night, acquiring wide receiver DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks for a 2025 second-round pick and agreeing to a five-year, $150 million extension, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The Steelers and Seahawks also are flipping 2025 picks in the sixth and seventh rounds, sources said.

Metcalf, the 27-year-old 2019 second-round pick, requested a trade on March 5 as he entered the final year of a three-year, $72 million extension signed in 2022. He previously had one year left on his contract worth $18 million, but the Steelers worked quickly to secure their new wideout to a deal worth $30 million annually.

That figure puts him in rare air among wide receivers and among Steelers free agents. Only six other wideouts have contracts currently valued for at least $30 million annually, and before Metcalf’s extension, the most the Steelers had spent on an outside free agent was linebacker Patrick Queen’s three-year, $41 million contract signed last free agency.

Metcalf’s trade comes only a few days after the Seahawks dealt quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders. Following both trades, the Seahawks have five picks in the first three rounds of the 2025 draft: Nos. 18, 50, 52 (via Pittsburgh), 82 and 92 (via Las Vegas).

In Metcalf, the Steelers finally landed their long-sought-after big-play receiver to round out a wide receiver room that lacked depth and star power behind 2022 second-round pick George Pickens. Metcalf averaged 15.0 yards per reception and 66.1 yards per game in 2024, collecting 66 receptions, 992 receiving yards and a career-low five touchdowns.

Metcalf was more productive in the first six games of the season, averaging nine targets in the Seahawks’ first six games. But after hurting an MCL in Week 7, Metcalf missed two games and averaged just under six targets per game over the rest of the season.

Since the Seahawks traded up to snag Metcalf out of Ole Miss with the final pick of the second round in the 2019 draft, the big-bodied wideout has averaged 1,054 receiving yards and eight touchdowns per season along with 14.4 yards per reception. Meanwhile, Pickens — the Steelers’ top receiver — averaged 64.3 yards per game and 15.3 yards per catch in 2024 during his third season in Pittsburgh. He also caught three touchdowns in an injury-shortened season.

Pickens is eligible for an extension this offseason as he enters the last year of his rookie deal, and general manager Omar Khan expressed a desire to keep the mercurial wide receiver in Pittsburgh when he spoke with reporters at NFL combine less than two weeks ago.

“I can tell you that he has a desire to be great,” Khan said of Pickens, via the team’s website. “He has a desire to be great here. We have a desire for him to be great and to be great here with respect to the contract. But you know, we won’t discuss that publicly, and usually those things are addressed at a later date.”

The next-most productive wideout on the Steelers’ 2024 roster was fellow 2022 draft pick Calvin Austin III, who averaged 15.2 yards per reception and finished the season with just 548 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

The Steelers’ pursuit of a top-tier wide receiver dates back to the previous offseason, when they were in the mix for the 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk. Aiyuk, however, opted to remain in San Francisco with a four-year, $120 million deal. The Steelers also landed wide receiver Mike Williams at the trade deadline from the New York Jets in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick, but Williams wasn’t a major contributor after a game-winning catch against the Washington Commanders less than a week after being traded

Though the Steelers significantly upgraded their wide receiver room with the Metcalf acquisition, they still don’t have a quarterback under contract for the 2025 season. Both Justin Fields and Russell Wilson are slated to be free agents when the new league year opens on Wednesday afternoon, and sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Fields wants to test the market before making an informed decision.

Wilson and Metcalf both starred together in Seattle, with the Wilson serving as Metcalf’s quarterback for the first three seasons of his career.

The Jets have expressed interest in Fields, the former Chicago Bears first-round pick, sources indicated to Fowler. Khan told reporters at the NFL combine that Pittsburgh’s top priority was sorting out the quarterback position; but Metcalf requested a trade earlier this week, expediting the Steelers’ roster-building timeline.

Sources: Josh Allen to get record $250M guaranteed in new deal

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Bills have rewarded NFL MVP Josh Allen with a record-setting six-year, $330 million contract through the 2030 season that includes $250 million guaranteed, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday.

It’s the largest guaranteed total given to an NFL player, surpassing the previous mark of Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who received $230 million guaranteed.

Allen, who was previously signed through 2028, will be 34 years old when the final year of this extension begins. The extension takes Allen from the 14th-highest average annual value among quarterbacks ($43 million) to tied for second ($55 million). Only Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has a contract with a higher average annual value ($60 million).

“I love Josh and so proud of what he’s done, and so, I could be here all day talking about how great he is and what he’s done for our team and where he belongs in the pecking order of all that stuff,” general manager Brandon Beane said at the end of the 2024 season. “He and I have a great relationship. We talk a lot. When the dust settles, before we’re ever really talking to his agent or his agents calling me, like, Josh and I will have those conversations [about a potential extension], holistically about the team, things like that. And I’m not saying it will happen, I’m not saying it won’t happen. … There’ll be a time and place, and not saying we will, but not ruling it out either.”

Allen became the first player in NFL history to record at least 25 touchdown passes and 10 touchdown runs with fewer than 10 interceptions in a season. He finished with 28 touchdown passes, 12 rushing touchdowns and 6 interceptions.

Allen has accounted for 260 touchdowns in his career via passing or rushing, the most in a player’s first seven seasons in NFL history and 29 more than the next-closest player in Patrick Mahomes.

Improving turnovers was a focal point for Allen heading into the 2024 season, and he responded with the lowest amount in a season for his career (eight). That went a long way toward the Bills’ success as they won their fifth consecutive AFC East title.

Allen also took a step forward in leadership in 2024, after an offseason of transition, by serving as one of two team captains.

“Josh Allen’s leadership, his consistent leadership, was the biggest reason why we did what we did this season. So, anybody that tries to say otherwise, I know better,” coach Sean McDermott said at the end of the season. “I’ve seen it, and him now doing that every season for us, not an easy undertaking.”

Allen’s play and leadership “went hand in hand,” McDermott said.

“He continues to do that, we’re going to win a lot of football games.”

Allen became the team’s third player to be voted MVP, joining Thurman Thomas (1991) and O.J. Simpson (1973).

Since entering the league in 2018, Allen has 65 rushing touchdowns — 10 more than the next closest quarterback (Jalen Hurts). Allen has accounted for at least 40 touchdowns (passing or rushing) in five straight seasons, the longest streak in NFL history. No other player has done that in four straight seasons, and only Aaron Rodgers has had more such seasons (six).

Allen will go into 2025 with consistency, as coordinator Joe Brady enters his second full season in the role. Allen is coming off his second AFC Championship appearance and going into his eighth season looking for his first Super Bowl appearance after going 0-4 against the Kansas City Chiefs and Mahomes in the postseason.

“We’re going to continue to turn every stone over and cross the T’s, dot the I’s and do whatever we can to try to bring a Lombardi back here to Western New York,” Allen said at the end of the season.

The extension tops a slew of recent new deals for Buffalo players: defensive end Greg Rousseau reached a four-year, $80 million contract; linebacker Terrel Bernard got a four-year, $50 million contract; and receiver Khalil Shakir agreed to a four-year, $53 million extension.

Allen, the 2018 seventh overall pick out of Wyoming, became the first player in 21 seasons to win MVP without being selected first-team All-Pro. Since MVP was first handed out in 1957, the only other players to win the award despite not being a first-team All-Pro were Broncos quarterback John Elway (1987, when Joe Montana was first-team All-Pro) and Titans quarterback Steve McNair (2003, Manning).

Rams to sign 3-time All-Pro WR Davante Adams to two-year deal

Six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Davante Adams agreed to a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams, the team announced Sunday.

Adams arrives as the Rams prepare to move on from standout wide receiver Cooper Kupp.

The New York Jets released Adams on March 4, three weeks after announcing they were parting with his favorite quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.

Adams’ two-year deal with the Rams has an $8 million base salary in 2025 and $16 million in 2026. His 2025 base salary is guaranteed and he has a $6 million roster bonus guaranteed on the third day of the 2026 league year. He also has a $12 million signing bonus and $1 million available in incentives each year.

Adams was due to count $38.3 million on the Jets’ salary cap — a 2025 league high for wide receivers. That includes $35.6 million in nonguaranteed base salary, the contract they inherited in October when they acquired Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders for a 2025 third-round pick.

The Jets received major cap relief, clearing $29.9 million from this season’s cap.

The Jets’ new regime — coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey — worked to shed all remnants from the Rodgers era, which ended last season with a 5-12 record and triggered an organizational reboot.

After a slow start, Adams came on strong toward the end of last season and finished with 67 catches, 854 yards and 7 touchdowns in 11 games for the Jets. Combined with his Las Vegas production, he exceeded 1,000 yards for the fifth straight season. His signature performance was a nine-catch, 198-yard performance with the Jets in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Adams, 32, a three-time first-team All-Pro, has 957 receptions for 11,844 yards and 103 touchdowns in 11 seasons.

A second-round pick of the Packers in 2014, Adams spent his first eight seasons in Green Bay and ranks second in franchise history in touchdown catches (93) and receptions (669) and fourth in receiving yards (8,121).