He played college football for the Wabash Little Giants and was selected by the Seahawks in the third round of the 1982 NFL draft.
He finished his career by playing two seasons for the Detroit Lions, starting in 17 of the 31 games he appeared in while splitting time with David Sloan.
He also was an intern with the Indianapolis Colts during their 2003 training camp, assisting with the tight ends under offensive coordinator Tom Moore.
On January 24, 2014, Metzelaars became tight ends coach for the San Diego Chargers, replacing Jason Michael who left to be offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans.
[5][6][7] In 2018, Metzelaars became the offensive line coach for the Atlanta Legends of the newly formed Alliance of American Football.
[8] In 2023 he joined the Helvetic Guards of the European League of Football (ELF) as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach.