Seahawks & Cowboys Have Discussed Earl Thomas Trade Centered Around 2nd-Rd Pick

Dan Graziano of ESPN reports that the sense around the NFL right now is that the Cowboys aren’t done making a push to trade for Seahawks S Earl Thomas.

Two sources have told Graziano that trade talks between the Cowboys and Seahawks have centered around Dallas’ second-round pick (No. 50 overall) but a trade won’t be agreed to until the Cowboys determine whether they can sign Thomas to a long-term extension.

Graziano adds that if the two parties end up agreeing to a trade, you can expect an extension for Thomas to be announced soon after.

Yesterday, Ed Werder reported that a draft trade for Thomas is not considered a priority for the Cowboys. However, Werder adds that the Cowboys do have interest in Thomas and are willing to consider a trade for him if Seattle’s asking price comes down.

Last we heard regarding Thomas and the Cowboys, Jane Slater of NFL Media mentioned on “Good Morning Football” Monday that Dallas may opt to wait a year before pursuing Thomas should he be available in free agency.

Slater explains that the cost of acquiring Thomas in terms of draft capital and the fact that they would have to turn around and sign him to a long-term extension is likely too prohibitive for Dallas at this point in time for a deal to get done during the draft.

While the Seahawks are reportedly looking for a first-round pick for Thomas, John Clayton recently said Seattle would accept a lower package of draft picks for him.

“I think they can be talked into something less,” Clayton said. “I went through all the rosters, and it was really kind of weird because 27 teams were in pretty good shape at the free safety position. That included Dallas which was pretty good with Byron Jones, but now they’re moving him to cornerback so that opened up one spot he could go to. One spot is Arizona but they’re not going to trade him within the division. So really it’s Dallas probably or nothing as far as a trade. So knowing that Dallas would probably prefer to get a wide receiver in the first round now that Dez Bryant is gone, they draft one spot behind Seattle, I think it’s more likely it would be a No. 2, but then what’s added to the No. 2 would probably be the determination if they would be satisfied or not.”

Clayton specifically mentioned a package that consists of second- and fourth-round picks in 2018 and another pick next year for Thomas.

The Cowboys have been the team to watch for Thomas all along, but it remains to be seen if a potential deal will gain any traction in the coming days. Thomas tracked Cowboys HC Jason Garrett down after a game last year to tell him he’d like to play for Dallas if possible some day.

Thomas, 28, is a former first-round pick of the Seahawks back in 2010. He’s entering the final year of his five-year, $44.725 million contract that includes $27.725 million guaranteed and stands to make a base salary of $8.5 million for the 2018 season.

According to OverTheCap.com, trading Thomas would free up $8.5 million of available cap space while creating $1.9 million in dead money.

In 2017, Thomas has appeared in 14 games and recorded 88 tackles, two interceptions with one being returned for a touchdown, a forced fumble and seven pass defenses. ProFootballFocus rated him as the No. 9 overall safety out of 86 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding the Seahawks and Thomas as the news is available.