While appearing on the Ireland sports talk show “Off The Ball” Seahawks safety Earl Thomas didn’t sound overly confident in his status with the Seahawks for the upcoming season.
“Hopefully I stay,” Thomas said on the talk show via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “But right now nobody knows. It’s a guessing game. So we’ll see.”
Thomas, a three-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler, is set to enter the final season of his four-year, $40MM deal with Seattle. The Seahawks have reportedly shopped Thomas around in trade talks, with the Cowboys believed to be one of the teams interested in trading for the Texas native.
“In my case, whether I’m in Seattle or anywhere else, I’m going to be rich and happy regardless,” Thomas continued.
The Seahawks are reportedly seeking first- and third-round picks for Thomas’ services. He didn’t miss a game through the first six years of his career but has missed seven games over the last two seasons due to various injuries. The Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom” has seen a shakeup this offseason, with the departure of Richard Sherman to the 49ers. Fellow cornerback Byron Maxwell is an unrestricted free agent this offseason as well.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- The Cowboys’ addition of Allen Hurns wasn’t meant to signal the end of the Dez Bryant era in Dallas, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), but rather that Hurns will work as a complementary piece to Bryant. The Cowboys signed Bryant to a five-year, 70MM deal in 2015. Along with the two-year deal for Hurns, the Cowboys added wide receiver Deonte Thompson on a one-year contract earlier this week.
- Saints owner Gayle Benson is set to assure her counterparts at next week’s owner’s meetings that she has no plans to sell the team and is confident in her staff following the death of her husband and longtime Saints owner, Tom Benson, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (on Twitter).
- The Falcons do not have interest in signing free-agent defensive end Robert Ayers, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Falcons were reported to have interest in Ayers, along with the Saints and Panthers, before they signed re-signed defensive end Derrick Shelby.
- While the Falcons are reportedly out on Ayers, they have not closed the book on signing free-agent linebacker Pernell McPhee, per Ledbetter. The Falcons, who visited with McPhee on Wednesday, have three linebackers on the roster now, with Deion Jones, De’Vondre Campbell and Duke Riley. McPhee has spent the last three seasons with the Bears and has tallied four sacks in each of the last two years.
- Former Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger has been added to the Spring League for its upcoming season, per Pro Football Talk (on Twitter).