Joel Corry of CBS Sports suggested an interesting trade that could help the Seahawks address their left tackle position in the event Russell Okung signs elsewhere in the coming days.
Corry writes that with the Browns looking to be entering a full rebuild, they could look to once again field trade offers for LT Joe Thomas.
Seattle has traded their first-round pick numerous times in the past few years and could really use a left tackle of Thomas’ caliber. Corry mentions that they could package their first-round pick in a deal for Thomas and then rework his contract so that his 2016 salary is more cap-friendly.
The Seahawks have clearly been in the market for offensive tackle help and have been linked to free agents such as Okung, Kelvin Beachum, Donald Penn and J’Marcus Webb.
Sheil Kapadia of ESPN believes the Seahawks should “strongly consider” this option if they can’t reach a deal with one of the available free agent tackles.
The Browns were discussing a potential trade that would have sent Thomas to the Broncos in the days leading up to last year’s traded deadline. However, the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement on compensation and the deadline passed without a deal being completed.
Thomas, 31, is a former first-round pick of the Browns back in 2007. He’s entering the sixth-year of his eight-year, $92 million contract that included $44 million guaranteed.
Thomas stands to make base salaries of $8.3 million (2016), $8.8 million (2017) and $8.8 million (2018) over the remainder of the contract.
In 2015, Thomas appeared in all 16 games for the Browns and was rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 1 offensive tackle out of 77 qualifying players.
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