DK Metcalf timeline of trouble, from Fred Warner fight and arguing with officials to punching Lions fan

Daniel Mader

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DK Metcalf timeline of trouble, from Fred Warner fight and arguing with officials to punching Lions fan image

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Since he entered the league in 2019, DK Metcalf has been known as one of the NFL's most productive wide receivers -- but also one of its most explosive personalities.

First with the Seattle Seahawks, then with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Metcalf has earned a bit of a reputation for off-the-field antics, including the NFL having to discipline him. While Metcalf's dominance on the field has been a sight to behold at times, he's also been a distraction to his team at others.

Metcalf has a long list of fines from the league for incidents ranging from fights and unnecessary roughness penalties, plus a 2025 suspension due to his physical interaction with a Detroit Lions fan.

Here's a full timeline of Metcalf's off-the-field incidents since he entered the NFL.

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DK Metcalf timeline of trouble

Fined for touchdown celebration, December 2020

Metcalf has picked up 16 career fines from the NFL, per Spotrac, and the first came in December 2020.

Metcalf, as part of a touchdown celebration, jumped into the stands — which were without fans during ongoing COVID-19 protocols — and took the broadcast camera from Fox's camera operator, moved it around a bit, then returned to the field.

The NFL then fined him $6,131 for that celebration.

Unsportsmanlike conduct and taunting fines, October 2021

In a two-week span in October 2021, Metcalf was hit with a pair of NFL fines. First, after a matchup against the Saints, he earned a fine for unsportsmanlike conduct after a few scrums with cornerback Marshon Lattimore. Both players were fined for their roles in the incidents, seen shoving, grabbing at face masks and jawing at each other throughout the night.

Then, on Halloween during the 2021 season, Metcalf was hit with a taunting fine in Week 8 after a Seahawks win over the Jaguars.

Metcalf leaped up and hugged the goal post during a celebration, which he said was a reference to Antonio Brown previously doing the same, but the NFL wound up fining him $6,949 for the antics.

Metcalf responded to his fine on social media, surprising at how much he was fined for a simple hug of the goal post.

Ejection, fine for fighting Henry Black, November 2021

The 2021 season continued to be a busy one for Metcalf in Week 10, when his emotions boiled over during a 17-0 loss to the Packers. With less than two minutes remaining in the game, the receiver got into a fight with Packers safety Henry Black after grabbing Black's facemask during a scuffle.

Metcalf was ejected for fighting, then also received a $6,949 fine. 

Fined for arguing with officials, November 2022

Plenty of NFL players debate with officials, pleading their case for the right call, but Metcalf seemed to have taken it too far in November 2022. In Week 10, he was flagged during the Seahawks' matchup against the Buccaneers after arguing an uncalled defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone.

The NFL proceeded to hit him with a $29,785 fine for arguing with an official, and while Metcalf appealed the fine, it was upheld. Per Adam Schefter, Metcalf was said to asked the official in the game if a play was pass interference, and the official was said to respond, “Did I throw a flag?”

Unsportsmanlike conduct fines vs. Jalen Ramsey, December 2022 and January 2023

Toward the end of the 2022 regular season, Metcalf received two fines from the NFL. The first came following Week 13 against the Rams, as Metcalf heat-butted opposing cornerback Jalen Ramsey and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, then fined $10,609.

“Yeah, I head-butted him on purpose,” Metcalf said, per the Seattle Times. “The official’s right there. [Ramsey] pushed me, so I head-butted him. It’s football.”

Then, when the Seahawks and Rams met a few weeks later in January, Metcalf was fined another $21,219 for unsportsmanlike conduct in an exchange with Ramsey.

Late hit and taunting fines on Ahkello Witherspoon, September 2023

Metcalf's troublemaking against the Rams continued into the 2023 season. In Week 1, Seattle took on L.A., and Metcalf had an ugly series where he blindsided safety Ahkello Witherspoon with a late hit to the ground, which wasn't part of the play.

That was then followed by a taunting penalty, meaning Metcalf received a pair of fines for a total of $21,854 from the NFL.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll later said Metcalf had to start to "elevate above" the antics, as his fines and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties were becoming a theme.

"DK and I talked for a long time last night about [how] that's not what we can allow to happen because that means that they can control him and get after him," Carroll said on his Seattle Sports 710-AM radio show, per ESPN. "So, he has to elevate above that. So it's a challenge. This is nothing new. DK's been an emotional, feisty, fiery player since the day he got here, and that is who he is. But he has to also manage that so they don't take advantage of it."

Facemask and unnecessary roughness penalty fines, September 2023

The penalties continued for Metcalf in Weeks 2 and 3 of the 2023 season, as he was first flagged for a facemask on safety Kerby Joseph against the Lions, resulting in a fine of $10,927. 

Then, in Week 3, Metcalf was fined $16,391 by the NFL for an unnecessary roughness penalty against the Panthers, which resulted from him laying an illegal blindside block on a Carolina defender.

Unnecessary roughness fine, October 2023

Week 6 of the 2023 season saw Metcalf get into a spat with Cincinnati Bengals DB Cam Taylor-Britt. The receiver shoved Taylor-Britt to the ground from behind after the whistle, and it resulted in a $16,391 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Ejection for fighting Fred Warner with fine, December 2023

Metcalf found another opposing defender to confront in Week 14 of the 2023 season, getting into it with San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner. Metcalf slammed Warner to the ground, then as the two began to fight, he grabbed Warner's facemask.

Metcalf was ejected from the game, then fined $19,123 for fighting.

Unnecessary roughness fine, October 2024

While no penalty was thrown in the game, Metcalf walked away from the Seahawks' matchup against the Giants in October 2024 with more fines to pay. 

He was dinged $11,255 for an uncalled roughness penalty in the game, after he appeared to throw Giants cornerback Deonte Banks to the ground.

Impermissible use of the helmet fine, January 2025

Following a Seahawks vs. Bears matchup in January 2025, one of Metcalf's final games for Seattle, he was docked $22,511 for a skirmish with Chicago cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. 

Metcalf and Stevenson got into it, pushing and shoving a bit, then Metcalf head-butted Stevenson with his helmet, resulting in the fine.

Fighting against the Packers, November 2025

Metcalf received his first fine as a member of the Steelers in November 2025, hit with a $12,171 charge for unsportsmanlike conduct after an unnecessary roughness flag in the fourth quarter of Pittsburgh’s 35-25 defeat to the Green Bay Packers.

Metcalf engaged in a brief altercation with linebacker Quay Walker, putting his fingers in Walker’s facemask and grabbing it.

Obscene gesture fine, December 2025

In Week 13, after the Steelers took on the Bills, Metcalf was fined $14,491 for unsportsmanlike conduct/obscene gesture.

Suspended for punching Lions fan, December 2025

After years and years of fines, Metcalf's actions resulted in a suspension for the first tie in Week 16 of the 2025 season. During the Steelers' matchup against the Detroit Lions, Metcalf was seen swiping at a Lions fan in the stands as he stood on Pittsburgh's sideline at Ford Field.

Officials did not see the interaction, so he was not penalized in the game, but CBS' broadcast caught Metcalf hitting the Lions fan. The next day, the NFL announced a two-game suspension without pay for Metcalf.

Per ESPN, the Detroit Free Press spoke to the fan who was involved in the altercation, and he identified himself as Ryan Kennedy from Pinckney, Michigan. Kennedy said he called Metcalf by his full name, DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf, which prompted the receiver's physical reaction.

"I called him that and then he grabbed me and ripped my shirt," Kennedy told the Free Press, per ESPN. "I'm a little shocked. Like everyone's talking to me. I'm a little rattled, but I just want the Lions to win, baby."

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero also reported that Kennedy and Metcalf had a history, as Metcalf reportedly had issues with Kennedy in 2024 when he was with the Seattle Seahawks and had previously reported the fan to security. 

After rumors over whether or not Kennedy used hateful language in the incident, the Lions fan released a statement denying that he used any racial or derogatory language to Metcalf in the interaction through his lawyer.

"Ryan Kennedy categorically denies using the "N-word," the "C-word," or any racial, misogynistic, or hate-based slur during the incident that occurred on December 21, 2025 at Ford Field during the Pittsburgh Steelers-Detroit Lions game. These allegations are completely false."

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