Seahawks S Earl Thomas: Pay Me Or Trade Me

Earl Thomas asks in a piece for the Players’ Tribune for the Seahawks to either give him an extension or trade him to a team that’s willing to sign him to a long-term extension.

“If the Seahawks don’t intend on having me around for the long-term, then I understand,” Thomas writes. “And if they want to start over and rebuild, then that’s their right — it’s part of the business. It’s not what I want but I get it. All I ask, though, is that if that’s the case, and they don’t want me anymore — just please trade me to an organization that does. Please trade me to a team that wants me, so I can give my all to them for the rest of my career.”

Thomas adds that he’s publicly asking for an extension or a trade because he believes he deserves more secuirity based on the fact that he’s been one of the best players in the league for a while now.

“I’m standing strong on this — because I’ve got to,” Thomas said. “I’m standing strong when it comes to getting what I deserve. I’ve been one of the best defensive players in this league for the better part of a decade, and the numbers show that this team plays much better with me than without me. Beyond that, I still have some great years of football left in my tank. I’m not even close to slowing down. I’m still working to get better.”

Adam Schefter reports that NFL executives believe Thomas will ultimately be traded at some point.

Earlier in the week, Seahawks HC Pete Carroll told reporters on Tuesday that there hasn’t been any communication with Thomas, who is currently holding out of training camp, up to this point.

Ian Rapoport also reported that the Seahawks informed Thomas prior to the start of offseason workouts that they were not going to address his contract. Rapoport says that Seattle was “specific and clear” about their intentions to not address Thomas’ contract, so his decision to not attend the start of training camp has no impact on their plans to offer him an extension whatsoever.

On Thursday, the Seahawks officially placed Thomas on the reserve/did not report list.

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 Thomas as the news is available.