Tag: earl thomas ravens

Should the Cardinals Sign Pro-Bowl S Earl Thomas?

Following the Cardinals’ 23-26 loss to the Detroit Lions and glaring needs at safety, should the Cardinals bite the bullet and sign Pro-Bowl safety Earl Thomas?

The Arizona Cardinals experienced one of their more gut-wrenching losses in recent memory to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, falling 23-26. The team has lost to worse teams before, but this one felt different for both the Cardinals and their fans. This team is full of talent and potential, but can’t seem to reach it.

Part of Sunday’s disappointing loss came as a result of a very thin secondary for the Cardinals. By the time Detroit was at midfield in their game-winning drive, the Cardinals had backup safeties to their backups playing. The result was Marvin Jones breaking a tackle to move Detroit into field-goal range.

The incredible Budda Baker played through a thumb injury that requires surgery, but his availability in the future is uncertain. He will have surgery this week.

Baker’s plans are to only miss next week’s game against Carolina, but that is far from a certainty. He could end up missing a few weeks. This injury unfortunately pairs with the injuries to safeties Jalen Thompson, who is on injured reserve with an ankle injury, and Chris Banjo, who left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury.

So, what can the Cardinals do to add talent to their safety room? Many fans have expressed their desires to sign former Cardinal Tony Jefferson, though he does not appear ready to return to football as he recovers from a season-ending knee injury in 2019.

The obvious most talented option left for Arizona is none other than seven-time Pro-Bowler Earl Thomas III. After being an anchor in Seattle’s legendary Legion of Boom, Thomas signed with the Baltimore Ravens on a one-year deal. He was a large part of Baltimore’s stout 2019 defense. Thomas was released by Baltimore before the start of the season.

A seven-time Pro-Bowl and three-time First-Team All-Pro safety doesn’t get released in training camp very often. Thomas allegedly got into a fight with a teammate that led to him throwing a punch. This came months after he reportedly got into a scuffle with DT Brandon Williams after their loss to Cleveland. ESPN’s Adam Schefter has also reported Thomas missing or being late to some team meetings in his one-year stint with Baltimore.

Arizona would have to believe Thomas can prevent these type of incidents from occurring again for them to have any interest. There is certainly a risk in bringing a player into a locker room with that recent track record, but the payout if all works out is an All-Pro safety to bolster the secondary.

Budda Baker has settled in nicely in his role at free safety, which is the same role occupied by Thomas. While Baker has shown his positional versatility on the field, Thomas is usually locked into free safety. That becomes an issue when Baker returns, unless Vance Joseph wants to have Baker roam the field.

The bottom line is, Earl Thomas is a great player who makes the Arizona Cardinals better in the secondary. However, his release from Baltimore likely deters Steve Keim from bringing in the former All-Pro.

Depending on the status of Baker’s thumb surgery, Arizona would be better off adding one of the other free agent safeties given the hopeful short term injuries to their two starting safeties. Thomas may be a great player, but Arizona made Baker the highest-paid safety in the NFL. They rightfully believe in him.

Other free agent safeties include Tony Jefferson, Haha Clinton-Dix, Eric Reid and Demarius Randall. It would be a surprise if Arizona didn’t look into at least one of these options before Sunday’s game against the Panthers.

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Report: Baltimore Ravens to move on from Earl Thomas

Earl Thomas’ time in Baltimore seems to be coming to an end. What is next for the safety and what are some potential landing spots?

Yesterday the Baltimore Ravens sent safety Earl Thomas home from training camp, following an altercation with fellow defensive back Chuck Clark. That led to questions about how the organization was going to handle the talented safety and rumors that the team might look to move on from him under the “conduct detrimental to the team” clause in his contract.

According to reports today, the situation might be coming to a head sooner rather than later, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports:

It remains to be seen how exactly his time in Baltimore will come to a close. As Schefter reports, the team might try and trade him. Although, if they cannot find a suitor for him – which might be possible given the current situation – the organization could simply release him outright.

Whenever a player of Thomas’ caliber becomes available, or at least potentially available, it becomes common to contemplate some potential landing spots. Schefter mentions the Dallas Cowboys as one possible team. The Cowboys lost safety Jeff Heath this offseason, as well as cornerback Byron Jones, and while they added Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in free agency that position group is a bit thing in Dallas.

Whenever a veteran player is available, people instantly think of Bill Belichick. The veteran head coach has taken on players like this before, and with the trade of Duron Harmon and the decision by Patrick Chung to opt-out of the 2020 season due to concerns over COVID-19, the New England Patriots do have a need at safety. They added Adrian Phillips this offseason, and rookie Kyle Dugger has impressed at camp, but given how often the Patriots use three safety packages Thomas could be appealing to Belichick. They do have Devin McCourty in place, and their skill-sets overlap as both are best in free safety mold, but one can be sure Belichick would find a role for Thomas if he were inclined to acquire the safety.

Another team to watch is the Miami Dolphins. After trading Minkah Fitzpatrick the organization is looking to Bobby McCain and Eric Rowe as their safeties heading into 2020. Rowe is a converted cornerback who made the move to safety after the team added Jones and drafted Noah Igbinoghene this spring. McCain spent most of his time at free safety in 2019, but has also played in the corner as well as down in the box during his time in the NFL.

Finally, there is the Washington Football Team. Sure, it has been a tumultuous offseason in the nation’s capital, but Washington is looking at a safety pairing of Landon Collins and Sean Davis for the year ahead, with minimal depth behind them. Davis was used at both corner and safety during his time in Pittsburgh, and the team could potentially slid him back to cornerback if they acquire Thomas.

 

Report: Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas sent home from training camp after altercation

With the team sending the safety home from camp, it remains to be seen how they handle Earl Thomas going forward.

The Baltimore Ravens made a bit of news late in the week, with the team sending safety Earl Thomas home from training camp after an altercation with fellow safety Chuck Clark.

Tom Pelissero was first with the news:

Pelissero updated his reporting with this from the organization:

Thomas took to social media to explain the situation, stating that a busted coverage led to the incident:

Thomas remains one of the top safeties in the NFL, but this has been a rocky off-season for the Baltimore safety. Thomas was involved in an altercation with his wife back in the spring, when she pointed a loaded weapon at the safety:

According to a police affidavit, Nina Thomas tracked down her husband at a short-term rental home in Austin in the early morning hours of April 13 and found him and his brother, Seth, in bed with two women.

The affidavit says Nina Thomas admitted to pointing the pistol at Earl Thomas’ head “with the intent to scare him.” She had taken the magazine out of the gun and disengaged the safety, but police noted “she was unaware the gun had a round in the chamber.”

Nina Thomas struck Earl Thomas repeatedly with her free hand before her husband eventually wrestled the 9 mm Beretta from her grasp, the affidavit said. At that point, he told the woman with whom he was romantically linked to call the police.

This incident, coupled with the recent altercation with his teammate and the organization sending Thomas home from training camp, has led to speculation that the team might be considering moving on from the safety. According to Pro Football Talk, the team could cut Thomas for “conduct detrimental to the team” and recoup his fully guaranteed $10 million salary for the 2020 season:

Thomas has a fully-guaranteed salary of $10 million in 2020. But this doesn’t mean he’s untouchable. PFT has obtained a copy of his contract, and it’s clear that the guarantee for 2020 evaporates if he’s suspended by the Ravens for conduct detrimental to the team.

It’s hardly a foolproof plan; Thomas would fight any such suspension, and the Ravens would have to show that they’ve taken all proper steps to lay the foundation for the suspension, consistent with past practices and other relevant circumstances that would allow the move to be upheld in arbitration. Lose, and the Ravens would owe him the $10 million. Win, and they save both cash and cap space in that amount.

Even if they can avoid the guarantee, cutting Thomas would result in a $5 million cap charge in 2020 and another $10 million in 2021. However, if the suspension sticks, the Ravens would balance out the 2021 cap hit with a $10 million credit.

It remains to be seen how the organization is going to handle this situation, but Baltimore added Iowa safety Geno Stone in the draft, and Stone has looked solid so far in camp. Stone has the skill-set to potentially be an option as a safety down in the box, with the Ravens moving Clark to the free safety spot, should they move on from Thomas.