Earl Thomas has been the best safety of his era and was the X-factor in the Seattle Seahawks defense, but is the 29-year old worth a major new deal?
Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas has stated that he won’t attend the team’s minicamp unless he gets a new deal. Thomas, who turned 29 this year, is in the final year of his current deal.
He’s set to make $10.4 million with his base salary and signing bonus.
Thomas claimed in a post on Twitter:
— Earl Thomas (@Earl_Thomas) June 10, 2018
He got one thing correct, he has definitely earned the right to get this resolved, especially after all he has done for the Seahawks over the years. Thomas deserves an extension with a lot of guaranteed money. But the team is experiencing a rebuild right now and, because of all of the drama around him, Thomas may no longer suit the rebuilding process.
There has clearly been some tension between Thomas and his team for a while now. Let’s not forget last season when he told Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett to “come get me”. While he may be extremely talented, is that really the kind of player you want in your locker room while you’re trying to rebuild? That’s a question Pete Carroll and John Schneider need to answer.
If the Seahawks refuse to give Thomas a new deal, they could justify it several ways.
For starters, Thomas has just four interceptions in the last two seasons. That’s the fewest number he’s had through any two year span in his career. He’s also missed seven games in the last two seasons and has not been a First Team All-Pro since 2014. At age 29, in a league where safeties are criminally undervalued, the Seahawks could justify not extending Thomas based on his decline in production.
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I suppose they could do a lot of things, but Thomas still deserves a juicy new deal. Some team will give it to him, even if it’s not the Seahawks. But the Seahawks has a glaringly obvious lack of depth in the secondary and Thomas is a player who will one day waltz into the Hall of Fame. This is a big decision for the team to make, and they’re better off making it sooner rather than later.