{"id":663597,"date":"2026-01-08T11:05:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T11:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/663597\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T11:05:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T11:05:15","slug":"steelers-mike-tomlin-sends-dk-metcalf-a-message-after-his-return-from-suspension-its-behind-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/663597\/","title":{"rendered":"Steelers\u2019 Mike Tomlin sends DK Metcalf a message after his return from suspension: \u2018It\u2019s behind us\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> wide receiver DK Metcalf<\/a> has now returned to the lineup after a two game suspension for getting into an altercation with a Lions fan during the Steelers\u2019 29-24 win in the Motor City. <\/p>\n

On Monday, Metcalf made amends for his actions and was excited to return to the team for the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust not being out there, just watching it from a different perspective, it was difficult for me,\u201d Metcalf said. \u201cBut I\u2019m excited to be back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the fan, Ryan Kennedy, has made a public push against allegations that arose following the game. Kennedy and his legal team held a press conference where they vehemently denied Kennedy\u2019s usage of racist or misogynistic language. <\/p>\n

While there could be pending litigation, the Steelers are preparing for their game against the Houston Texans. Joining the Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday, head coach Mike Tomlin said that Metcalf has apologized for his actions and is now ready to move on. <\/p>\n

\u201cMan, he\u2019s sick about it,\u201d Tomlin said. \u201cI\u2019m tired to hearing him apologize about it. It\u2019s behind us now. It\u2019s time for us to move on and get singularly focused on what lies ahead. Certainly, there\u2019s a growth opportunity there as a man, but all indications are that it is happening. He\u2019s open and non-resistant to that. So my focus is the football that\u2019s ahead of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Steelers have an AFC North title, but they want to crack their playoff winless streak. Metcalf could be a huge part of that if the Steelers can break through against a Texans defense that stands as perhaps the best in the entire NFL right now. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf has now returned to the lineup after a two game suspension for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[7,6,31185,520,57,2360,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-663597","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-nflraw25","11":"tag-pittsburgh","12":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","13":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","14":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115859156132612731","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}