Earl Thomas

[Northwest Seahawk]

If you can get a second round pick for Earl you do it that gives Seattle ammunition to do anything they want on draft day . Stay at 18 trade up or trade down.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Absolutely not. No 2nd round pick is going to make even 1/3 the impact that Earl will in 2018.

 

[Steve2222]

Trade him to Cleveland, they got picks and sure could overpay to get a star.

Only a team who is ready to compete for a Super Bowl would trade anything of value for a FS. No way Cleveland gives their 1 or 4 for ET. The 33rd pick maybe. The Browns sign Cousins, draft Saquon Barkley and Mikah Fitzpatrick, then trade both their second round picks for Earl Thomas, suddenly Cleveland looks like a playoff contender.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Absolutely not. No 2nd round pick is going to make even 1/3 the impact that Earl will in 2018.

Then you have to hope we make a deep playoff run next year, cause if you don't trade him now he's gone for nothing in 2019.

I love Earl, I love everything he's about on and off the field. But if the FO isn't going to extend him, which it doesn't seem like they are? Then how do you not trade him now for a package of picks.

I think what we found out last year, is that you can get a McDougall and if you have good corners and nickel DB's, you can still have a solid defensive backfield, without Earl and Kam.

 

[Sports Hernia]

Proven commodity vs unknown potential.

What has our 2nd rounder done on the field in 2017? What happens if that draft picks turns out to be the next Aaron Curry?
You can always franchise Earl or extend him. If you lose him via FA you’d probably get a COMP 3rd which isn’t much worse than some are proposing in a trade. You rarely get better by trading your best players off.

 

[LudwigsDrummer]

My guess is JS tries to extend ET this offseason. If he can't it is either play him out, trade him, or FT him. FT might not be a bad idea if we have the cap room, but I doubt we do.

 

[chris98251]

Absolutely not. No 2nd round pick is going to make even 1/3 the impact that Earl will in 2018.

That's just plain Negative thinking !

 

[original poster]

My guess is JS tries to extend ET this offseason. If he can't it is either play him out, trade him, or FT him. FT might not be a bad idea if we have the cap room, but I doubt we do.

Cap situation isn't bad at all on the surface in 2019 to be fair. Around $80M however only a few over 20 players under contract. If tagging him is what they wanted to do, they could.

 

[jammerhawk]

I love Earl as a player but if he wants to go and the team can get value from trading him, then that’s what should happen. I’d rather he stayed but his comments in Dallas indicate his mindset, as did his frustrated retirement comments of last season.

He’s a special talent and has huge value to the team, but as we have seen 3rd contracts are loaded with potential danger. Replacing a perpetual All Pro player is never a certain thing but change happens. That goes for just about every other player on the team. It’s easy to criticize but changes are inevitable.

The Patriots do it right and remain willing to trade away genuinely talented players when they are faced with a likely loss of the player to free agency. These are all hard decisions that need to be made for the overall good of the team. Sherman as well could be a trade discussion. Releasing Avril or Kam, electing to not keep Graham or Richardson are probably ongoing discussions regarding the upcoming free agency period. We all have huge respect for our proven veterans but Father Time works against every player and in the end the team is more important than any of it’s parts.

Changes will happen, some that hurt, some that surprise. Nothing is for sure. We wait and watch because we are fans of the team, of the game.

 

[Sox-n-Hawks]

It's a business decision. Return on investment. Earl has done great, I would not consider signing him to a long term deal. Maybe a one year deal with minimal guaranteed money and some big bonuses for on field performance.

 

[Atradees]

The defense will be fine. If a player is in and out with injuries then has to get back to game speed....the o has to be better. That whole Cowpies thing bothers me.

 

[jammerhawk]

It's a business decision. Return on investment. Earl has done great, I would not consider signing him to a long term deal. Maybe a one year deal with minimal guaranteed money and some big bonuses for on field performance.

So true, and that business decision is one made by both sides. The team would likely want to reduce it’s potential dead cap exposure as you describe, and Earl will want a BIG final contract with lots of guaranteed money. He’s said so when he saw the contracts given to other top Safeties. Some team will pay him that money but it is unlikely to be Seattle.

Can the team get more for him than a 3rd comp pick by trading him now? My bet would be yes.