DK Metcalf and Jalen Ramsey, now Steelers teammates, squared off within the Seahawks-Rams rivalry years in the past. Though they now share a locker room in Pittsburgh, they nonetheless line up on reverse sides of the ball. However they’re each professionals, they usually deal with the chance with the requisite skilled courtesy.
“One factor that I’ve all the time revered about Jalen was his aggressive edge”, Metcalf stated on the NFL Community. “Each time we step on the sphere, it was all the time, ‘I’m not gonna allow you to win’ and vice versa. However now that we’re teammates, first one-on-one rep, we all the time soar up there and shake one another’s hand and, ‘Let’s work’, and that’s it”.
The Steelers traded for each DK Metcalf and Jalen Ramsey this offseason, which many perceived as out of character. However they actually added fairly a little bit of expertise to their respective large receiver and cornerback rooms and dealing with each other in apply day by day will solely make them higher.
For Metcalf, it’s not simply Ramsey, but in addition Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr. He’s lining up towards all of them, studying from them and attempting to develop. Whereas already a Professional Bowler, the Steelers wouldn’t thoughts a profession 12 months out of him.
Metcalf had his greatest season with former Steelers QB Russell Wilson in 2020. That 12 months, he caught 83 passes for 1,303 yards and 10 touchdowns. He made the Professional Bowl and positioned on the second-team All-Professional checklist. As for Ramsey, he makes the Professional Bowl virtually each season and is a three-time first-team All-Professional.
“Simply having him right here, Slay, Joey Porter Jr., Juan Thornhill, DeShon Elliott, all these guys on the again finish, they’ve acquired my respect as a result of they’re final rivals”, DK Metcalf stated, increasing the checklist past simply Jalen Ramsey. “However off the sphere, we are able to chop it up about something and chill within the lunchroom, play playing cards collectively. It’s tight out right here”.
The NFL can create unusual bedfellows, incorporating bitter rivals in a single draft class. Virtually everybody who enters the league has some collegiate affiliation, they usually make bets when their rival colleges play. Almost a decade in the past, Stephon Tuitt needed to put on an Ohio State jersey.
It will get much more attention-grabbing, arguably, when these rivalries are within the NFL. In recent times, the Steelers have added 5 former Ravens, for instance. As for Jalen Ramsey and DK Metcalf, they performed towards one another for 4 seasons. Not that they have been all the time hostile—once more, these are professionals. When the Dolphins performed Seattle final 12 months, the 2 exchanged jerseys after the sport.
And now they soar in entrance of the road in each one-on-one interval and start their matchup with a handshake. For the primary time in every’s profession, they’ve one shared aim. They perceive that the success of 1 would be the success of the opposite, so they may as nicely develop collectively.
