Speaking to reporters today, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll confirmed that safety Earl Thomas suffered a broken tibia in last night’s game against the Panthers and will miss the rest of the season, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Thomas will not be able to return even if Seattle makes a deep postseason run.
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The end result is not unexpected, especially after Thomas had to be helped off the field last night and then tweeted a cryptic message that even hinted at retirement. Without Thomas — who is arguably the most important player on the Seahawks’ defense — Seattle will be forced to adjust its scheme down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs, as the club’s backups, including Steven Terrell – who will likely step in for Thomas – will be hard-pressed to replicate the perennial All-Pro’s production.
Thomas, 27, rates as Pro Football Focus’ No. 11 back-line defender this season, but he’s been one of this decade’s best defenders. Seattle’s consistently churned out ancillary secondary pieces — like Byron Maxwell, Brandon Browner, or Jeremy Lane — but don’t have much experience using backup safeties.
Signed through the 2018 campaign, Thomas is set to have cap charges of $10.4MM in each of the next two seasons.
That is sad
Powell is going to b good. He will end up stepping in and doing a decent job