That’s not how to use your head, DK.
Up until last week, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf had done extremely well to avoid some of the unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties he’d been prone to drawing in previous seasons.
Metcalf was docked $22,511 for his on-field skirmish with Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson just prior to the two-minute warning in the first half of Seattle’s 6-3 win over Chicago. There was an exchange of words, followed by a shove of the helmet and then a headbutt. Predictably, Metcalf drew a pair of 15-yard penalties but only one was assessed.
The NFL fined #Seahawks WR DK Metcalf $22,511 for unnecessary roughness (use of helmet) for head-butting #Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson during their dust-up last week. pic.twitter.com/lZljQR9hXS
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 4, 2025
The good news within the context of that game was Seattle overcoming the penalty and scoring what proved to be the winning field goal.
This is Metcalf’s second fine of the season, having previously lost $11,255 for an unnecessary roughness infraction against the New York Giants. Metcalf had penalties in each of the first four weeks of the season (including a pair of offensive pass interference calls), but he hadn’t been flagged from Week 5 up until Week 17.
At least only getting fined twice is a huge improvement from the six he racked up in 2023.
No one on the Bears was fined for that incident, and this was the only fine for anyone on either team.