Seahawks' DK Metcalf suffered MCL sprain vs. Falcons

SEATTLE — The Seahawks could be without receiver DK Metcalf for Sunday’s game against Buffalo after he suffered a sprained MCL injury against Atlanta. But coach Mike Macdonald didn’t rule out that Metcalf could make it back and said the good news is that Metcalf escaped a significant injury.

“He’s got a minor MCL [injury],” Macdonald said. “Timeline, I’m not sure, it doesn’t look like it’s a long-term injury. You guys know DK, we know DK, he’s going to probably do anything humanly possible to be able to play in this game, I would imagine. We’ll assess as the week unfolds here.”

Macdonald confirmed an ESPN report that it is a grade one sprain.

Metcalf was injured late in the third quarter of Sunday’s 34-14 win over Atlanta when he was upended by Falcons safety Justin Simmons and fell hard to the turf while leaping for a pass at the sideline.

Metcalf was examined on the bench and then carted off a little later.

Metcalf leads the Seahawks with 568 receiving yards, which is also second in the NFL. He had 99 yards on four receptions, including a 31-yard touchdown with four seconds left in the first half Sunday before leaving.

If Metcalf can’t play, the Seahawks will have to rely on backups Jake Bobo, Laviska Shenault Jr. and Dareke Young to fill in and play alongside starters Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Macdonald also mentioned that the Seahawks could use more two tight end sets, and maybe more two running back sets as well, as a way to create different offensive looks without Metcalf.

“There’s lots of options there at our disposal that are in the system, so if we didn’t have him — you’re never going to fill the shoes of a DK Metcalf, but you can kind of work around it in certain ways,” Macdonald said.

The players who would most logically see their snaps increase are Bobo and Shenault.

Bobo has been essentially the No. 4 receiver all season and stepped in when Metcalf was injured Sunday, playing a season-high 29 snaps, though he did not have a catch (Pro Football Focus assessed him a drop on the one pass that came his way). The second-year player out of UCLA, who made the team a year ago as an undrafted free agent, has eight catches for 66 yards this year.

Shenault, a second-round pick of the Jaguars in 2020 who signed as a free agent in the spring, has played in every game this season and has been one of the primary kickoff returners. He has four catches for 26 yards this season but did not have a snap on offense Sunday.

Young, a third-year player, does not have a catch this season but has been a regular on special teams.

“We have a huge amount of confidence in our guys,” Macdonald said. “We’ve got a deep [receiving] crew. Jake stepped in yesterday after DK went down and then the way that we build [it] all three guys can kind of play all three spots where you can mix and match. … Laviska being able to play multiple spots and the catch-and-run stuff with him is exciting.”

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