Seattle Seahawks rookie receiver D.K. Metcalf is scheduled to have minor knee surgery on Tuesday, head coach Pete Carroll told reporters on Sunday.
Carroll declined to put a timetable on Metcalf’s expected absence, but he said “there’s optimism” for a return for Week 1 of the regular season.
“The (doctors) really have a clear look already at the MRI, what it is and think it’s a really quick recovery, likely,” Carroll said. “That still all has to happen. I think we are going to keep him in town and get the work done right away and be very optimistic about the way he can get back.”
“We are disappointed for him because he was off to a fantastic start, but I don’t think this is going to derail him for long,” Carroll added.
Metcalf practiced all week — including Friday, the last session before Sunday’s preseason game in Minnesota — but Carroll said the team discovered this week that there were issues in Metcalf’s knee. He did not play Sunday, as the Seahawks lost 25-19 to the Vikings.
The Seahawks took the 21-year-old 64th overall in April’s draft out of Ole Miss. During his three-year career with the Rebels, Metcalf missed most of 2016 with a foot injury and the second half of 2018 due to a neck injury.
Seattle’s top rookie, first-round defensive end L.J. Collier, was already out with an injury. He injured his ankle during training camp and could miss regular-season time.