Earl Thomas

Seahawks Eyeing First-Round Pick For Earl Thomas?

March 2nd, 2018 at 9:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Earl Thomas is one of the most accomplished safeties of his era but is entering his ninth season and has voiced concerns about an uncertain future in Seattle. And the Seahawks are open to negotiations.

While Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports wrote the team could possibly land multiple Day 2 picks for the soon-to-be 29-year-old safety, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports the Seahawks would try to land a first-round pick plus an additional mid-round selection in Thomas talks.

Seattle trading arguably its best player and a future Hall of Fame candidate would signal a rebuild, at least to some degree, would be commencing. The team is shopping Michael Bennett as well, and the futures of Super Bowl cornerstones Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril are in doubt. Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright are essentially the only members of that defensive nucleus whose names have not been associated with uncertainty thus far this offseason.

Thomas is seeking a new contract, one that won’t be cheap. Eric Berry‘s $13MM-AAV deal could be in sight for the league’s former highest-paid safety. The former Texas Longhorn is on the Seahawks’ books at $10.4MM this season.

No active safety has more than Thomas’ three first-team All-Pro distinctions, and with his age-30 season not set to commence until 2019, he stands to have plenty more good years left. He backed off the possibly not-so-serious retirement talk that occurred while he was out after breaking his leg in 2016 and started 14 games last season.

Condotta lists the Texans, Raiders and Steelers as some possible suitors. Oakland GM Reggie McKenzie is a close friend of John Schneider, and the Raiders need safety help alongside Karl Joseph after Reggie Nelson‘s contract expired. They don’t have a ton of salary cap space and may be eyeing top-market corner Trumaine Johnson with much of it. The Steelers are in dire need of coverage help and may be ready to jettison their most experienced safety, Mike Mitchell, to create cap space. But the Le’Veon Bell situation and a lack of cap space clouds Pittsburgh’s spending outlook. The Texans have a need at safety, more cap space than both teams, and they made a deal with the Seahawks in October.

Thomas, though, connected himself to the Cowboys after the Seahawks’ December in win Dallas. He’d surely welcome a trip to his home state, but the Cowboys don’t have a friendly cap situation either. They are set to use their franchise tag on Demarcus Lawrence, which would be worth $16.2MM of their space. OverTheCap has Dallas as holding $17.4MM in space going into the weekend.

Hawks Notes: Thomas, Bennett, Richardson

March 2nd, 2018 at 7:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

After missing the playoffs for the first time since 2011, the Seahawks have some decisions to make regarding key members of their veteran core. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports anticipates two members of the Earl Thomas/Richard Sherman/Michael Bennett trio being traded. John Schneider said the team will be “open to listening to anything” this offseason. Here’s the latest on trades and other matters from Seattle:

The Seahawks are shopping Bennett at the Combine, and La Canfora estimates the team will take a draft choice for Bennett and look to add a free agent to replace him up front. Interestingly, JLC places the other high-profile former Jets defensive end, Muhammad Wilkerson, as a Seahawks candidate. Bennett has three years and more than $26MM remaining on his contract, and considering a market light on edge talent, he should be able to fetch the Seahawks a Day 3 pick despite his age (32) and salary.
However, Seattle will demand value for Thomas. La Canfora expects the soon-to-be 29-year-old safety to be worth multiple Day 2 picks and anticipates the Seahawks moving him. Thomas has made multiple comments about a holdout this winter. He and Eric Berry are the only active safeties to have three first-team All-Pro honors on their resumes, and Thomas figures to have several years of productivity left. He was the last member of the Legion of Boom standing, returning from a broken leg to play in 14 games, after Sherman and Kam Chancellor went down with severe injuries. One season and $10.4MM remains on Thomas’ second Seahawks contract. It’s logical Thomas, whose 2014 Seahawks extension represented the salary standard at safety for many months, will expect a third deal on the Berry tier. The Chiefs All-Pro earns a safety-high $13MM per year.
Sherman’s injury makes him the most logical choice to stay in Seattle and mentor the next wave of DBs, La Canfora writes. One year and $13.2MM remains on the 29-year-old cornerback’s contract.
A recent report indicated the Seahawks weren’t likely to use their franchise tag on Sheldon Richardson by Tuesday’s deadline, and Schneider confirmed as such. “Not at this point. We have time, but we have more people that we have to talk to this weekend,” Schneider said, via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. “We’re not done with all our meetings.” Tagging the 27-year-old interior defender would cost Seattle $14.2MM, and that wouldn’t seem to fit in an offseason in which the team is trying to shed veteran expenses.
Several factors point to the Falcons inquiring on Bennett, with Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com noting that in addition to the defender’s relationship with Dan Quinn he shares an agent with Atlanta GM Thomas Dimitroff. Falcons DC Marquand Manuel was also a Seahawks assistant during part of Bennett’s Seattle tenure. Although McClure said the Falcons’ ideal scenario would be to add Bennett as a free agent, he expects Dimitroff to inquire about what it will cost to make a deal with the Seahawks. He would be a threat to line up inside on passing downs to help bolster the Falcons’ interior pass rush. “I think he’s a mismatch on the guards. I think he has a couple good years left,” an NFC coach told McClure. “I think he still has some juice. And he has that relationship with [Quinn].”

Earl Thomas Doubles Down On Holdout Talk

January 27th, 2018 at 2:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Earl Thomas‘ second Seahawks contract raised the bar for safeties, but that four-year, $40MM extension has been since surpassed by several players. And it’s only good through the 2018 season.

This status has caused the perennial All-Pro to reassess his standing in Seattle. After broaching a holdout earlier this week, Thomas doubled down on Saturday, telling Jane Slater of NFL.com he doesn’t see himself rejoining his Seahawks teammates without a long-term deal (Twitter link).

“I won’t allow myself to even go out there and just risk it all if they’re not having faith in me in a long-term deal,” Thomas said at the Pro Bowl. “I just gotta protect myself, at the end of the day, me and my family. … I don’t feel comfortable going out there without signing a long-term deal.”

Thomas’ apprehension is understandable given how his 2016 season ended and the way some of his longtime teammates’ 2017 campaigns concluded. Thomas suffered a broken leg during the ’16 slate, one that significantly affected the Seahawks’ Super Bowl chances, and observed Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril encounter career-threatening neck injuries this season.

Five safeties usurped Thomas’ contract since he signed it in 2014, with Eric Berry‘s $13MM-AAV agreement now the safety standard. Among active safeties, only Thomas and Berry have three first-team All-Pro distinctions to their credit. Thomas is five months younger than Berry and won’t turn 29 until May, so he figures to command top dollar from Seattle or another team, if it comes to that, for his third contact. The eighth-year defender hinted at a union with the Cowboys, whom he supported growing up, in December.

The Seahawks extended Chancellor, who does not have a first-team All-Pro honor despite consistent success, last year for $12MM per season and also have Richard Sherman entering a contract year. It could be a complicated offseason for the Legion of Boom.

NFC West Notes: Seahawks, Cardinals, 49ers

January 26th, 2018 at 8:33pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Safety Earl Thomas had made waves with his perceived discontent with the Seahawks over the past month or so, and he now sounds serious about initiating a contract holdout, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. “I want to finish my career there,” Thomas said. “I definitely don’t see myself going out there not signed. But I’m going to continue to work my butt off and enjoy this process at the Pro Bowl. As far as my future in Seattle, I think if they want me, you know, money talks. We’ll get something accomplished. Other than that, I’m just taking it one day at a time.” Thomas, 28, is entering the final year of his current contract, and says Seattle has yet to initiate negotiation discussions. He’s currently earning $10MM annually, which ranks sixth among NFL safeties.

Here’s more from the NFC West:

New Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks has opted to retain incumbent quarterbacks coach Byron Leftwich, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Former Arizona head coach Bruce Arians has been especially vocal about Leftwich’s future prospects, noting last June that the former first-round pick would become “a head coach early and fast.” Elsewhere on staff, wide receivers coach Kevin Garver and tight ends coach Steve Heiden could stay on with the Cardinals, per Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link), while inside linebackers coach Larry Foote will return, tweets Alex Marvez of the Sporting News. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have also announced Jeff Rodgers — who’s coached with the Bears, Broncos, and Panthers — as their new special teams coordinator.
While the 49ers are confident that they’ll be able to extend quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, there is a chance San Francisco will be forced to use a franchise or transition tag, leading Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk to examine the benefits and drawbacks of each tender. The transition tag is roughly $2MM cheaper than the non-exclusive franchise tag, but it also comes with the threat of another team snagging Garoppolo without the 49ers collecting draft pick compensation. However, general manager John Lynch & Co. lead the league in cap space, meaning they’d be able to match nearly any offer sheet Garoppolo receives from another club.
The 49ers are searching for an assistant defensive line coach to work under Jeff Zgonina, reports Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link). USC defensive line coach Kenechi Udeze was in the 49ers’ facility on Thursday, so there’s a possibility he was interviewing for the position, per Maiocco. Vince Oghobaase held the title of assistant OL coach in 2017, but he’s since joined the UCLA staff.

Earl Thomas Wants To Go To The Cowboys?

December 24th, 2017 at 8:09pm CST by GregGoldstein

Despite the Seahawks eliminating the Cowboys from playoff contention with a win this afternoon, it appears that one of Seattle’s best players would rather play in Dallas next season. After securing the victory, All-pro safety Earl Thomas was seen going into the Cowboys locker room to tell head coach Jason Garrett that “When the Seahawks kick me to the curb, please, Cowboys, come get me,” according to Dallas News.

It’s a rather odd series of events because Thomas has been a key piece to one of the best defenses in the league since he was drafted in the first round in 2010.

Thomas confirmed his actions to reporters in the locker room postgame, but it might not have been as blatant as it may appeared, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

“I’ve always been a Cowboys fan growing up,” Thomas told reporters after the team’s win. “The biggest things when I said ‘come get me,’ I didn’t literally mean come get me now. I’m still in the prime of my career, I still want to be here. But when Seattle kicks me to the curb, please, the Cowboys, come get me. You know?…People take me too serious. That’s just who I am.”

While Thomas did seem to back track a bit on wanting to come to Dallas next season, it still begs the question to why he would pull this stunt now? Thomas is under contract for one more season, but the team could look to trade him should the Seahawks not lock him up to a long-term contract. Seattle is notorious for trying to address impending free agency situations and have been unafraid of shopping key players as they have done in the past with star cornerback Richard Sherman.

Seattle already opted to give fellow safety Kam Chancellor a long-term committment, and when asked about what that means for his future after the Week 16 win, Thomas simply said “I don’t know. Actions speak louder than words. So I don’t know.” (via Dallas News)

While the Seahawks front office ultimately has the final say on where Thomas plays in 2018, it should be noted that Thomas is clearly already thinking about where his football career may take him after he’s finished in Seattle. It would appear that should he be forced to move on either next year or later down the road, the Cowboys would be high on his list of choice destinations.

West Rumors: Smith, Seahawks, 49ers

December 20th, 2017 at 9:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled on Wednesday there is enough evidence to take Raiders cornerback Sean Smith to trial for the alleged incident that occurred on July 4 involving Smith and his sister’s then-boyfriend, Nathan Feeno of the Los Angeles Times reports. The preliminary hearing featured two witnesses saying a man identified as Smith “stomped” the head of Christopher Woods in an incident on a street corner in Pasadena, Calif. Woods underwent surgery to repair five facial fractures, he said while in court. Both of his eyes were damaged, and Woods said he tore an ACL in the alleged beating. The 30-year-old Smith will be arraigned on Jan. 3. If convicted on this assault charge, Smith faces seven years in prison.

Here’s the latest from the Western divisions, moving to some Seahawks news.

The final year of Earl Thomas‘ second Seahawks contract is 2018, and the safety made some interesting comments about his future on Wednesday. The eighth-year defensive back and last vestige of the Legion of Boom at the moment responded to a question about his thoughts on a long-term Seahawks future. “I know whoever gets me, I’m balling,” Thomas said, via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. “That’s it. And I know I’m hot. So it is what it is.” Thomas signed his initial Seahawks extension in advance of his first contract year. Any subsequent re-up would almost certainly have to surpass Eric Berry‘s $13MM-AAV deal. Thomas and Berry are the only active safeties with three first-team All-Pro distinctions on their resumes.
Sheldon Richardson has now been reported to be interested in a Jets reunion, but the Seahawks defensive lineman (predictably) won’t rule out his current team, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports. While he said he’d be interested in staying in Seattle, Richardson said he’s not aware of any talks that have occurred between his agent and the Seahawks. The fifth-year lineman added that talks could be going on unbeknownst to him and that he informed his agent he wanted to focus on this season. “We’ll see where the chips fall,” Richardson said.
After waiving guard Mark Glowinski on Saturday, the Seahawks were hoping to bring him back, offensive line coach Tom Cable said (via Condotta, on Twitter). But the Colts swooped in with a waiver claim. Glowinski started 21 games for the Seahawks — including all 18 of their 2016 contests — since arriving as a fourth-round pick in 2015.
The 49ers did not have Leonard Fournette as a top-three player in this past draft, leading to the Solomon Thomas selection. Kyle Shanahan attempted to douse any rumors he’s against taking running backs with a high pick, saying certain backs are worthy of that draft slot. However, the first-year coach’s comments may be interpreted as having an emphasis on making the correct evaluation of a later-round back rather than investing a Round 1 choice on one. “It’s been proven that you can get guys (running backs) later,” Shanahan said, via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “But that by no means makes it that I’m going to say we’re never going to draft a running back high. … A big-time running back, whether it’s Fournette; whether it’s Adrian Peterson, who was a top-10 pick; whether it was Terrell Davis in the sixth round; whether it’s David Johnson, I think was a third-rounder; Le’Veon Bell, I think was a second-rounder. All those guys are worth top-five picks, but they were all found in different places.” The 49ers are currently in position to hold the No. 4 pick, and Penn State’s Saquon Barkley could put the team to a decision.

NFC West Notes: Seahawks, Woods, Peters

December 1st, 2017 at 7:39pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Seahawks have dealt with multiple injuries on the defensive side this season. Marquee performers like Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril have all been ruled out for the year and in the case of Avril and Chancellor, their overall football careers could really be in jeopardy.

Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times writes in a column, with the help of former NFL agent Joel Corry, how he expects the team will handle a few of these injury situations from a cap point of view in 2018. The most complicated of the group seems to be Chancellor, who’s contract runs through the 2020 season. By simply retiring, the strong safety would alleviate a lot of Seattle’s cap problems, but he’s unlikely to do that given all the money that’s left for him to make. Condotta notes that if the safety was inactive to start the season, he would still make a guaranteed $6.8MM if he remains on the roster by February 10, 2018. With this in mind, it seems likely that the front office would opt to wait things out to see how the soon-to-be 30-year-old responds next year given the salary cap situation. However, unlike Chancellor, Avril is likely not to be back with the Seahawks on his current deal given that the team can save $7.5MM if he were released or retires. Seattle could look to bring him back on a lesser, more incentive-rich contract if he were to be released.

The piece adds some more in-depth cap information as well, and is really a good deep dive into how the Seahawks will handle some of their trickier contract situations given that they are right up against the cap at the moment.

On more positive Seahawks injury news, head coach Pete Carroll spoke positively about the chances starting defensive backs Earl Thomas and Shaquill Griffin would be able to play Sunday, reports Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. “He’s fine,” Carroll said of Thomas. “He had something we just tended to yesterday, a sore foot, and that was it. Not a big deal.” The star safety was listed as questionable on Thursday, but looks to be on track to suit up this weekend. Griffin missed last week’s game against the 49ers with a concussion, but he will be back too, according to Henderson.
Breakout Rams wide receiver Robert Woods was sidelined for the team’s win over the Saints last week and will most assuredly be out for Week 13 as well. However, head coach Sean McVay told reporters this afternoon that he’s “shooting for” Woods to return by December 10, although the young coach did clarify that the more likely return date would be a week later than that, tweets Aiden Gonzalez of ESPN.com. Woods has been a real impact free agent for LA, especially in recent weeks, as he’s recorded 20 catches and four touchdowns in the last three games he played. Without the 25-year-old receiver, the Rams will more heavily rely on Sammy Watkins, Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds.
The Cardinals officially agreed to a contract extension with defensive tackle Corey Peters earlier in the day. Now we are learning more about the specific finances of the new deal looks like. The 29-year-old defensive lineman will earn $12MM over three years with $7.25MM being paid in total guarantees, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Rapoport adds that Peters’ deal also includes a $2.75MM signing bonus and incentives that could add another $1MM to the total value of the contract.

Seahawks’ Kam Chancellor Likely Done For Season

November 18th, 2017 at 8:47am CST by Ben Levine

The Seahawks have lost another key member of their secondary. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (via the GMFB Twitter), strong safety Kam Chancellor is likely to miss the rest of the season. The veteran suffered a neck injury during last week’s game against the Cardinals. There was seemingly some optimism that Chancellor’s season wouldn’t be compromised, as coach Pete Carroll noted earlier this week.

“We’ll find out,” Carroll said on 710 ESPN (via Curtis Crabtree of ProFootballTalk.com). “We don’t know yet. He had a stinger thing that happened during the game and we’re going to have to make sure he’s in good shape and he’s OK. Don’t know right now. He’s going to get some tests and make sure. This is stuff that is so crucial that we do a really good job and take our time with and all that. We’re doing that.”

Chancellor, 29, has been a mainstay on the Seahawks defense since 2010. The four-time Pro Bowler was having another productive season in 2017, compiling 49 tackles and a pair of passes defended in nine games. Pro Football Focus has been particularly fond of his 2017 performance, ranking him sixth among 86 eligible safety candidates. Chancellor has missed a handful of games over the past several seasons, including nine regular season contests between 2015 and 2016. The defensive back inked a lucrative three-year, $36MM extension ($25MM guarantee) with the organization prior to this season.

Assuming Chancellor lands on the injured reserve, he’ll be joining fellow defensive back Richard Sherman, who is out with an achilles injury. Fortunately, the team should be seeing some reinforcement on the unit, as Earl Thomas is set to return to the lineup after missing a pair of games with a hamstring injury. The team will presumably turn to their grouping of backup safeties, including Bradley McDougald, Delano Hill, and Tedric Thompson, to fill in for Chancellor.

Seahawks’ Earl Thomas Could Miss Games

November 3rd, 2017 at 3:39pm CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks have ruled out safety Earl Thomas for Sunday’s game against the Redskins, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The injury may result in a multi-game absence.

Thomas’ hamstring forced him out of action during last week’s contest against the Texans. Losing him for an extended period will hurt the Seahawks, not just because he is a defensive leader, but because he is among the league’s very best safeties. So far this season, Thomas is the No. 8 ranked safety in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. He’s regularly placed in PFF’s top ten, but his 87.6 score for this year actually represents a career watermark.

For now, Thomas will be replaced in the starting lineup by Bradley McDougald. Given that he started 31 games at safety over the past two seasons with the Bucs, the Seahawks can comfortably stick with what they have in-house for the time being.

After Sunday’s game against Washington, the Seahawks have a short week before facing the Cardinals on Thursday night. If Thomas can’t make a quick recovery, he might not see the field again until Seattle’s post-bye matchup against the Falcons on Nov. 20.

Latest On Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas

June 15th, 2017 at 9:08am CST by Connor J. Byrne

A report earlier this offseason indicated that the Seahawks’ Richard Sherman requested a trade, but the cornerback denied that was the case on Wednesday.

“It’s just a conversation they have every year. I guess this year, more people knew about it,” Sherman said (via the Associated Press). “It’s a conversation they have every year — everybody’s open, everybody’s available. They just made sure I knew, and you guys found out. Pretty open about it. It was never a situation where anybody asked for it. It was just a conversation.”

Regardless of whether the seventh-year man asked out of Seattle, the club did shop him, as each of Sherman, general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll have acknowledged as much. The Seahawks were unable to find anyone to bite on their reportedly lofty asking price, though, so the four-time Pro Bowler is set to helm the team’s Legion of Boom secondary once again in 2017. Sherman seems content do that, as the 29-year-old doesn’t harbor any ill feelings against Seattle and suggested the team was only doing its due diligence in placing him on the block.

“If somebody comes with two first-rounders, I wouldn’t blame them in the least, you know? I wouldn’t blame them at all,” he stated (per Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com). “It’d be another crazy trade. Who was it that got traded like that? Herschel Walker or something like that? But it’s just conversation. I think we have a fantastic relationship and always have. And it’s always been transparent to have those communications and not have them in a rude or discourteous way, but just professionally.”

While there were questions earlier in the offseason over whether Sherman would be a Seahawk in 2017, concerns existed that teammate and safety Earl Thomas, a fellow member of the Legion of Boom, wouldn’t play at all. The 28-year-old considered retirement after suffering a season-ending broken tibia in December, and he explained to 710 ESPN Seattle earlier this week why he nearly called it a career after seven years.

“I’m a speedster. So when I initially broke it, I’m like, ‘Dang, my career’s over with.’ That’s why I sent the tweet out,” said Thomas (via Kapadia). “Obviously I was very disappointed. I felt like I was having the best year of my career. But as you go through it, you learn, you understand that you can bounce back. And that’s where I’m at at this point.”

Unsurprisingly, financial reasons played a part in Thomas’ decision to return. Discussing when he decided to put off retirement, Thomas said: “I couldn’t tell you exactly at what point. It was a little bit of everything. I just felt like it wasn’t time. I saw Eric Berry get that huge deal. There’s never enough of that. So just a lot of things that made me come back.”

Berry, a fellow safety who’s the same age as Thomas, re-signed with the Chiefs on a six-year, $78MM contract in February. Thomas still has two years remaining on the four-year, $40MM pact he inked in 2014, but the five-time Pro Bowler will cash in again if he bounces back from his injury to continue performing at a star-caliber level. While Thomas still hasn’t fully recovered, “he’s doing way beyond what we thought he could be,” noted Carroll. Thomas expects to be on the field when Seattle opens its season in Green Bay on Sept. 10.

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