NFL Player Got Creative to Avoid Trash-Talk Penalties

After Seattle Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf scored a touchdown, he very publicly taunted the opposing player he beat on the play. Normally, that would draw a flag. But Metcalf avoided one in clever fashion—he delivered the taunt in American Sign Language. Watch it here. Metcalf used his newly acquired skill to sign "44, my son" in the Nov. 19 game, per USA Today. It's a reference to Los Angeles Rams cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon.

And, yes, Metcalf learned ASL on his off days for expressly this purpose, as he explained to sports talk show host Rich Eisen in a recent interview. "I kept getting flagged for my mouthing," Metcalf told him. The Witherspoon incident had all eyes on Metcalf ahead of Seattle's Thanksgiving Day game against San Francisco, but, alas, Metcalf had little to trash-sign about, being held to three catches and zero touchdowns, per SB Nation. (More NFL stories.)