Seahawks Tedric Thompson may be a starter for years in Seattle

Tedric Thompson might be the Seahawks safety of the future. But with Earl Thomas holding out due a contract dispute, Thompson may be the safety for now too.

Earl Thomas continues his contract dispute with the Seahawks. He wants an extension and he wants it now. This means he makes a little less money every day. But it also means that Seattle needs to see which players may be worthy of taking his position.

Tedric Thompson is one of the safeties trying to replace Thomas. Thompson will be in his second season in Seattle in 2018. Pete Carroll and John Schneider thought it was smart to draft him last year due to Thompson’s playmaking abilities in college.

And so far in training camp, Thompson has not disappointed. In practice two days ago, Thompson athletically intercepted a Russell Wilson pass. This is what Carroll hopes will happen when Thompson plays against real competition. He probably just hopes it doesn’t have to happen sooner than originally anticipated.

According to Carroll, though

"He’s a real natural player. (Thompson is) really smart. He’s got a great work ethic…He’s got everything you’re looking for so we’ll see how it goes."

Of course, Thomas is possibly a future Hall of Fame player. There is no real way Thompson can replace Thomas at this point. The second-year pro is going to make mistakes. 12s just have to hope those mistakes don’t cost Seattle a game because one loss in 2018 could determine whether Seattle gets to the playoffs or not.

Whether Thomas decides he wants to play this year, however, may have no bearing on the future of Thompson. Thomas could decide to really leave Seattle after this year and sign with the Dallas Cowboys or some other team. Based on the first few days of training camp, Thompson might be ready to step in and become the starter to replace Thomas for the next five years at free safety.