There’s still no end in sight to the Earl Thomas/Seahawks drama. Thomas continues to insist he won’t report without a new contract, and that without a new contract he wants to be traded. The Seahawks won’t budge on extending him, but also haven’t complied with his trade demands. The Cowboys have been a frequently mentioned potential destination for Thomas, a Texas native, and Brady Henderson and Todd Archer of ESPN.com, the site’s Seahawks and Cowboys reporters, respectively, took a look at what it would take to get Thomas to Dallas.
Henderson notes that the Seahawks have the money available to give Thomas a new deal if they really wanted to, they just don’t have any desire to pay him longterm top-safety market as he enters his age-29 season. Archer notes the Cowboys are even less restricted by the cap, and could give Thomas any deal they want comfortably. Henderson says the Seahawks “aren’t going to give Thomas away for nothing despite the perception that they have no other choice.” The Seahawks are clearly intent on getting top dollar for the All-Pro safety in any trade, and it’s unclear if the Cowboys will be willing to pay it.
Archer writes the Cowboys “aren’t going to overpay”, that they’ve “held firm in talks”, and that it’s “basically a staring contest” between the two sides now. The start of the season is right around the corner, and any potential trade would have to happen relatively soon for Thomas to be able to get up to speed with his new team. It will be fascinating to watch to see which side blinks first.
Here’s more from around the NFC West:
- The details on Duane Brown‘s new extension from the Seahawks are in. He’ll get $14.5MM fully guaranteed this year, an increase of nearly $5MM from what he was scheduled to make, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). The team could get out from under his contract fairly easily if they want after this year, as Rapoport notes only $1.75MM is guaranteed for injury in 2019.
- Speaking of staring contests, the Rams and Aaron Donald continue to have one of their own. Although the two sides reportedly remain intent on getting a deal done, Peter King of NBC Sports writes he thinks “this Aaron Donald holdout could last into September. Easily.” That’s the last thing in the world Rams fans want to hear, but it sounds like Donald again missing regular season time isn’t out of the question.
- Joshua Garnett could be cut by the 49ers writes Cam Inman of the Mercury News. Garnett was a first round pick in 2016, but didn’t play great as a rookie and missed all of last year with a knee injury. It’s always shocking if a first round pick is cut this soon, but it sounds like it’s a real possibility for Garnett, as the new regime in San Francisco has no ties to him.
Time for the Boys to pull the trigger on Earl. They’re going to have to pay Dak and Zeke big money in upcoming years and now is the time to go for it while the kids are cheap. I wish we would’ve made some of the moves the Rams gave this offseason (trading for Peters, signing Suh) who are also in a similar stage of cheap young QB play
Regarding the Earl Thomas situation, It’s clearly obvious which side is going to blink first. Getting top dollar is not going to happen if there is only one interested buyer.
Seahawks don’t have to trade Earl. They’re getting good value, and then they can either franchise him or collect a 3rd round compensatory pick when he walks. If Earl doesn’t show up, so be it.