Tag Archives: Earl Thomas

Free agency, The roster

Latest on all of Seattle’s Riches & more

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Logo -- Free agencyIt’s looking more and more like the Richardsons will indeed join Jimmy Graham in departing Seattle next month and Legion of Boomers Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas will not be going anywhere.

Here’s the latest on those guys and more free agency scuttlebutt:

A report from NFL Network confirmed what we have said all offseason: It doesn’t look like either Sherman or Thomas will be traded. Sherman has no value while rehabbing his torn Achilles and the Seahawks would prefer a long-term deal with Thomas, unless they get a great offer.

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State of the team, The roster

Should Hawks blow up the boom all at once?

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Kam and Bennett“Right now it is kind of in the air; but, trust me, the Legion of Boom will never go away.” — Shaquill Griffin.

BOOM!

That’s the sound of Seattle’s defense being blown up by many media and fans over the past month.

It’s the end of an era, they say. It’s time to take the broom to the Legion of Boom and sweep out the “old” guard, tossing out Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas along with presumed goners Kam Chancellor (on the field, if not on the roster) and Cliff Avril. Some oddly would even throw K.J. Wright in there, leaving only Bobby Wagner from the Super Bowl champion defense.

For those folks, the new core would be Wagner and youngsters Frank Clark, Jarran Reed, Nazair Jones and Shaquill Griffin — plus whoever John Schneider gets to replace Bennett, Sherman, Thomas, Chancellor, Avril and Wright.

There is no argument that the Seahawks are entering a period of transition. The big debate, though, is: How long should it take?

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The roster, Trades

Sherman will be a Seahawk in 2018, unless …

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Sherman AchillesOf course Richard Sherman is going to play next season. There was never any question about that. He merely confirmed it Thursday night.

There probably isn’t a question about where he will play either — not with him coming off an Achilles injury. Even he said he had no doubt he would be a Seahawk in 2018.

The Seahawks certainly will not cut him, as we said in November after he was injured. And, due to the injury, he probably won’t draw any good trade offers. So the Hawks will be content to help him rehab and prove his mettle again at age 30. And then decide whether to re-sign him in 2019.

But, worth considering: If some team were willing to offer a second-round pick or even a third, would John Schneider take it?

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Contracts, Free agency, The roster

12-step program for Schneider’s offseason

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John Schneider (via Fresh Files)The third bird was a charm.

The Eagles managed to do what their feathered NFC friends the Falcons and Seahawks could not — finish off the Patriots in yet another high-flying Super Bowl. And now we are officially on to the NFL offseason (which has started with a bang thanks to Josh McDaniels).

The Seahawks, of course, have been finished for a month — enough time for Pete Carroll to perform a major shakeup of his staff (eight coaches gone, five arrived). Now it is John Schneider’s turn.

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Contracts, The roster

Safeties ‘n’ numbers

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Salary cap logoBoth of Seattle’s star safeties are at career crossroads — one seemingly talking about walking out, the other about holding out.

The short of it: Yeah, it looks like Kam Chancellor is done, but Earl Thomas is not going anywhere.

Chancellor’s Instagram post Friday was seen by most as a message that he is leaning toward retiring — or at least not playing again. Unlike Cliff Avril, he has been silent about his neck injury, but all signs point to the No. 1 Legionnaire of Boom likely being finished.

The only question has been whether he would make the team put him on injured reserve so he could collect his injury guarantees, which amount to $12 million over the next two years.

Meanwhile, there is no question that money is at the heart of Thomas’ concerns. Late in the season, he started rumbling about his contract and possibly playing for Dallas. This week, at the Pro Bowl in Florida, he doubled down on the contract talk with a subtle threat of a holdout.

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Contracts, Free agency

Report: Hawks are willing to pay Thomas

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Salary cap logoSeattle is willing to pay Earl Thomas top of the market, Bradley McDougald is 70 percent to re-sign and Michael Bennett is 70 percent to be let go, according to “nuggets” from Davis Hsu, a reliable champion of Seahawks scuttlebutt on Twitter.

Also from Hsu’s source: Cliff Avril has a better chance to play again than Kam Chancellor, it looks like Byron Maxwell will return and Malik McDowell apparently has made some progress as he recovers from his ATV accident.

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Contracts, The roster, Trades

The scenario where the Hawks trade Thomas

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Salary cap logoEarl Thomas’ future in Seattle has suddenly come into question — thanks to his puzzling comments in the final weeks of the season and Pete Carroll’s lack of a firm answer about Thomas’ status.

We think the team will extend Thomas, but it’s entirely possible Thomas has been speaking out of knowledge that Seattle is not interested in extending him.

Trading Thomas would not make any football sense, of course, because the Seahawks don’t have anyone nearly as talented and are already thin at safety with Kam Chancellor possibly done playing and Bradley McDougald a free agent.

But there is a scenario where Carroll and John Schneider might decide dealing their 28-year-old Pro Bowl free safety is their best move: If they really want to pay to keep Sheldon Richardson and if Chancellor decides he wants his injury-guaranteed salary, the Hawks would have to make salary cap room for both.

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State of the team, The roster

Hawks are ready for defensive changes

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Draft -- Schneider and CarrollAfter two days of talking by the players and Pete Carroll, we’ve learned a few tidbits about the Seahawks’ personnel and upcoming decisions as they sit out the playoffs for the first time in six years.

A lot of people think the defense is in complete disarray and has to be rebuilt almost from scratch. Don’t tell that to Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, Frank Clark, Jarran Reed, Nazair Jones and Shaq Griffin. Those eight are all under contract for at least 2018 and figure to key a resurgent Seattle defense next season.

Carroll said he views it like 2011-12, when he was developing his Super Bowl core.

“There is a young nucleus and a new nucleus of guys that have come to us,” he said, referencing Bradley McDougald, Dion Jordan and Terence Garvin. “They’re part of that (2017 draft) class (which included Jones and Griffin) as well and the class from last year. These are good groups of guys now, so we’re very optimistic about the roster.”

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Contracts, State of the team, The roster

Thomas bracing for departure, but Hawks will pay him

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Earl in DallasEarl Thomas is creating a lot of negative-energy waves as this season winds down. To some, it might seem like he is trying to build up a trade tsunami.

But it’s just Earl being Earl — the Pro Bowl safety who wears his heart on his sleeve and sometimes puts his foot in his mouth. And you can expect him to be a happy camper, with feet firmly on the ground, again as soon as John Schneider gives him another contract extension in the coming offseason.

Thomas’ contract — which has one year left — clearly is on his mind, and he seems to be bracing for Seattle to trade him in 2018 or lowball him and force him to go play somewhere else in 2019.

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Contracts, Trades

Schneider should tag-and-trade Sheldon

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John Schneider (via Fresh Files)John Schneider has not been afraid to make bold gambles with the Seahawks’ roster — Percy Harvin, Jimmy Graham and Sheldon Richardson being prominent examples. As the 2018 offseason approaches, he has a chance to make another one.

Richardson figures to command a hefty contract on the open market, and he and the Jets reportedly are interested in a reunion — just months after the Jets traded him to Seattle for a second-round pick and Jermaine Kearse (and a swap of seventh-rounders).

Schneider could shrug and let the defensive tackle go, content to look forward to the third-round comp pick Seattle likely would get in 2019 — a partial offset for that trade. Or Schneider could be a lot more devious and daring, if he felt he could manipulate the situation to Seattle’s advantage.

Schneider has not used the franchise tag since his first year in Seattle, 2010, when he retained kicker Olindo Mare. But he should consider it for Richardson. And then trade him.

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