On Tuesday, former Texas Longhorns defensive back Earl Thomas was expected to meet with the Houston Texans. However, prior to his workout John McClain stated that the team decided better of it due to the history of the talented safety. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that it was more COVID-19 related as to why they cancelled the workout. Thomas was expected to sign with the Texans before it all changed at the last moment.
During a meeting with the media head coach Bill O’Brien cleared the air on the exact reasoning. Mark Lane of the Texans Wire reports that it was more COVID related than his history with Baltimore. At least that is what BOB said on Wednesday.
“Earl Thomas is a hell of a player,” O’Brien said via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “He’s had a great career. Again, we had a bunch of guys in and we decided to cancel. We’ll see how it goes moving forward. That’s really what it was. It’s not anything other than that and we’ve got a lot of respect for Earl.”
O’Brien went on to mention that the problems that Thomas had in Baltimore were not on their mind when they asked him to visit. Despite the fact that the Texans cancelled his workout as they did state, they still hosted other players including Shea Patterson. So while he claims that it was COVID-19 related and not off the field issues, not sure one can buy that. Especially based on the actions of the team.
For now Earl Thomas will sit and wait for another opportunity to play in the NFL.