Seattle Seahawks: Earl Thomas on reserve list part of growing divide

The Seattle Seahawks have placed Earl Thomas on a reserve list because of his failure to report to the team. This is just the latest in the growing divide.

And so the dramatic Earl Thomas storyline continues for the Seattle Seahawks. Because the All-Pro refused to report to the team he has been placed on the did not report (DNR) reserve list. Thomas has an eight-year storied history with Seattle that involves six Pro Bowls, three First Team All-Pro nods, a Super Bowl victory, and the title of X-factor in the Legion of Boom secondary. Now he’s made it clear he wants to be paid or to leave the team entirely.

Thomas is in the last year of a four-year contract that’s worth $40 million. With the Seahawks claiming they won’t address his contract situation, despite his current holdout, Thomas is in a sticky situation. At age 29 and playing one of the most undervalued positions in the entire sport, he’s unlikely to make the kind of money he wants in Seattle or anywhere else.

After all he’s done for the team over the years, Thomas does deserve to be given a new deal or traded. He was arguably the best player on the team’s defense during their golden years and while he’s been a little pushy, the team should respect his wishes. After all, they did let go of other key players from the old team such as Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett. Thomas seems like the only guy who potentially wanted out but was held on to.

His current situation is very reflective of the one going on with Le’Veon Bell in Pittsburgh. Both players are being vilified for wanting new, loaded contracts. But, unlike with Bell, there is a stronger sense of tension between Thomas and his team’s front office. Even though his official reason for holding out is his contract situation, Thomas may have wanted out of Seattle for a while now. Remember what he said to Jason Garrett? And then there were all of those trade rumors around the time of the draft.

This elaborate storyline will have a major effect on the Seahawks regular season success. If Thomas gets a new deal or just returns to the team in shape and picks back up where he left off the last few seasons, then all is well. However, if he decides to stay away from the team in 2018 or is traded, the team’s playoff chances will plummet. With Sherman gone and Kam Chancellor possibly never playing again, the next best player in the secondary is Shaquill Griffin. It would be hard for the Seahawks to recover from that kind of loss.

Thomas is a future Hall of Fame caliber player who built his legacy in Seattle. But, just like some of his former teammates, his patience with the team seems to have run out. More than likely, he knows that a new deal isn’t coming and is instead hoping to be traded elsewhere. His departure would fit the trend of the Seahawks parting with old pieces of their legendary defense, but with the team rebuilding they can’t afford to let a player of his caliber go. This has turned into a glorified staring contest, it’s just a question of who will blink first.