NFL
Seahawks Safety Earl Thomas Out for Season
The Seattle Seahawks suffered a damaging blow to their defense, with a broken leg ruling safety Earl Thomas out for the season. Thomas, who had held out for the entirety of training camp, suffered the broken leg in Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. Thomas was placed on injury reserve this morning.
This, for one, is a serious setback for the Seahawks defense, as they relied on Thomas to lead the defense. He played like his dominant self to start the season, with two interceptions in Week 3 against the Cowboys. He will now recover and wait for free agency at season’s end.
There’s concern, however, that the injury could cause a significant drop in Thomas’s value as he hits the open market. Sadly, it is also the second consecutive year he’s suffered a season-ending injury. With Thomas out, the Seahawks will look to third-year player Tedric Thompson to pick up the slack.
What this Means for Earl Thomas
Earl Thomas was holding out through training camp in hopes that the Seahawks would give him an extension. Thomas made it very clear that he wanted to play for the team if he was part of their long term future. However, the Seahawks made it clear that he was not and that they wanted him to play out his contact. Thomas requested a trade, which was never granted. He wanted to ensure he’d get paid in case of an injury exactly like this.
But the team never budged with his contract. Thomas returned to the team for the opening week of the season. He looked like his usual dominant self through the first several weeks. Then, in Sunday’s game, his season was ended.
Thomas was carted off during the game and, during this, it appeared that he was flipping-off the Seahawks sideline. This is believed to be in response to not getting a new deal in the offseason. Thomas was not hesitating to burn any bridges in Seattle. It is fairly safe to assume that this is his last season in Seattle. With his exit, Thomas will be the last player from the Seahawks’ Legion of Boom to part ways from the team.
It was rumored that the Seahawks were shopping Thomas around during the offseason. It came out earlier today that the Chiefs were very close to trading for the All-Pro safety before the injury. Thomas will look to sign a long-term deal with a team in the offseason. However, with his injury history and age (he’ll be 30 years-old next season), it remains to be seen if a team will pay him the money he’s looking for. Regardless, teams like the Chiefs, Cowboys, Steelers, and Buccaneers should be looking to sign Thomas once free agency begins next March.
Earl Thomas Profile
Earl Thomas attended the University of Texas. He was a standout player, amassing 10 picks and 135 tackles in 2 years as a starter. Thomas was drafted by the Seahawks with the 14th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He has continued to be a dominant, standout player in the NFL since. Thomas has accumulated 28 interceptions and 450+ tackles in 8 seasons in the league. Earl Thomas has been named an All-Pro three times, along with four Pro Bowl selections.
Photo Credit: M I K E M O R R I S via Flickr
Follow Ben Glassmire on Twitter (@brglass10) and on TSJ101Sports: NFL!
Subscribe to get the latest news from TSJ at the TSJ 101 Sports TV YouTube channel!
Play And Win Weekly at ThriveFantasy!
