Earl Thomas has made it clear he wants one of two things; get paid or leave the Seahawks. He may have had a pretty good idea of a trading partner after all.
Earl Thomas wants more money from the Seahawks, or he wants to go to a team that will pay him more money. He’s made it pretty obvious he’d love to play for the Dallas Cowboys. The trade rumors have been going on for, well, it seems like since the day he put on the pads in West Orange, Texas. Despite all the rumors, there’s been no movement, no reported talks at all on a trade.
Thomas is obviously getting frustrated; so much so that he reportedly found Raiders owner Mark Davis in Las Vegas last week and told him to “come get him”. It certainly seemed to be out of left field, but it did get the gears grinding for more than a few writers. And quite possibly the Oakland-soon-to-be-Las Vegas Raiders as well. Cody Williams had a very astute piece on the excellent FanSided site, NFL Spin Zone. In brief, the Raiders could use some help at safety. Who better than a six-time Pro Bowler?
The hangup has been thought the Seahawks asking price. Reportedly, the best offer they got, or hint of an offer, was a third round pick. Thomas is a Hall of Famer, and worth a lot more than that. At least, that’s Seattle’s position, and it doesn’t look like they’ll budge from it. But the Raiders opens up a very interesting possibility. You see, they have a stud defensive player who isn’t happy, either.
Seahawks could possibly land a monster defensive end
Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack is in a very similar situation as Thomas. He’s in the final year of his contract, and wants an extension. The Raiders are taking the same approach as the Seahawks with their star defender: in essence, you’re under contract, so honor it. Mack appears to be just as adamant about holding out as Thomas. And this make for a very intriguing possibility.
In case you missed it, both of the Seahawks starting defensive ends are on the shelf right now. Frank Clark is expected back with no issues, but Dion Jordan is a riskier health prospect. Right now Seattle looks like they have some decent candidates to step into the defensive backfield. No, they won;t play as well as Earl Thomas, but it certainly looks like we’ll be alright. The safety situation is better than what Seattle could be facing on the defensive line.
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Starting Clark on one end and Mack on the other would give the Seahawks an absolutely ferocious pass rush. Mack has averaged 12 sacks over the last three seasons, and is a great run-stuffer, too. Any deficiencies in the Seahawks secondary would be mitigated by the play of the line. So if Mack is so great, why would the Raiders let him go? Apparently coach Jon Gruden isn’t Mack’s biggest fan. As reported by Michael Davis Smith on Pro Football Talk, Gruden lit into Mack:
"We weren’t very good last year on defense with Khalil Mack,” Gruden said. “We didn’t have an interception, I think, all year. I don’t know if we intercepted a pass until Week 14. We’ve got to get a better pass rush, we’ve got to play better defense, period. And we hope Khalil gets here, but in the time being, we’ve got plenty of guys who need work."
Yes, the Seahawks could do it. They’ve pulled off bigger surprises
Apparently Gruden thinks Oakland -or Las Vegas – would be just as good without him. Again, the Raiders really need help at safety. According to Pro Football Focus, their highest graded safety, Karl Joseph, was ranked 52nd in the league last season. With all the talk about a trade to Dallas, the Cowboys have much better safeties than the Raiders. Well, okay, significantly better. The point is, the Raiders make more sense as a trade partner than Dallas.
Would the Seahawks bite? I mean, why take on another disgruntled player holding out for big money? For one thing, it’s a bigger need than safety right now. Mack is two years younger than Thomas, and has 57 fewer games of wear and tear on his body. And if I recall correctly, Seattle just rewarded a player who held out for six games against his previous team in his own contract dispute. That player would be Duane Brown, of course, now the proud owner of a brand new three year $34.5 million contract.
Yes, Mack is due a huge amount of money this year, nearly $14 million. And that’s exactly why contracts are renegotiated. Much as I’d hate to see Earl Thomas go, Khalil Mack would be worth it. Whether the Raiders are goofy enough to do it…well, GM Reggie McKenzie is one of the best in the business. But Gruden isn’t exactly giving Mack any warm and happy feelings. And have you seen Mark Davis? Yes, I like the Seahawks chances.