The NFL officially upheld the two-game suspension for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf on Tuesday night. Metcalf was suspended for an altercation with a fan during the team’s 29-24 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
It could be a costly suspension for Metcalf financially given what it does to the guaranteed money in his contract.
It could impact the Steelers if either of their remaining two regular-season games have playoff implications.
It should also leave the Steelers extra frustrated given the changes they made to their wide receiver room, as well as their recent track record with wide receivers causing headaches with non-game issues.
Steelers had to be hoping for more normalcy from wide receiver position
The Steelers have had quite a list of chaotic — and extraordinarily talented — wide receivers over the past decade who have eventually worn out their welcome for one reason or another.
Antonio Brown played like a Hall of Famer in Pittsburgh, but it eventually devolved into non-stop chaos.
Diontae Johnson gave them superb route-running and some big-play ability, but his wore out his welcome off the field, resulting in a trade to the Carolina Panthers.
Chase Claypool had a huge rookie season, but he eventually played his way out of Pittsburgh and frustrated the team before a trade to the Chicago Bears.
Then there was the George Pickens experience. Pickens flashed moments of brilliance, but he became such a headache behind the scenes and off the field the team traded him to the Dallas Cowboys shortly after acquiring Metcalf.
The thought process was that Metcalf could be an upgrade on the field and less maintenance off it. So far, it has not played out that way.
While Metcalf has been a solid addition and had his moments, Pickens has outperformed him since the trades. Now the Steelers have to deal with the reality that Metcalf could not keep his emotions in check and took himself out of the lineup at a key point in the season. Not even Pickens had that sort of thing happen.
There is a chance the Steelers’ next two games are meaningless. If the Baltimore Ravens lose to the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night, then the Steelers will clinch the AFC North. In that case, it will not matter that Metcalf is not there. If the Ravens win that game, however, the Steelers will have to win one of their remaining two games, either against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday or against the Ravens in Week 18 in the regular-season finale. Given how thin their wide receiver room is in terms of quality depth, and that Metcalf is by far their best wide receiver, not having him for an important game could be a problem.
This is not what they signed up for. Even if the fan in Detroit acted out of bounds, it is on Metcalf to be the professional and not let it get to him. It did. The NFL had to do something. Now it leaves the Steelers wondering when they can just find some normalcy at the position.