Seahawks Earl Thomas reports but he isn’t that happy about it

Seahawks safety Earl Thomas decided he would play in 2018. But he didn’t seem very happy about the prospect.

Earl Thomas, the All-Pro safety of the Seahawks, decided to report to practice on Wednesday. He wasn’t overly thrilled to do so, but he did. And Seattle became a better team because of it.

Thomas said in an Instagram post that the “disrespect” he felt he received from the Seattle football team “has been well noted.” Maybe this means no matter what money Seattle offers in the offseason, Thomas will move on after 2018. In 2019 Thomas can become a free agent. Unless Seattle places the franchise tag on Thomas, which they are very unlikely to do.

Thomas did say, though, that he didn’t want to let the fans of Seattle down. This is a good thing, right? That should mean that Thomas will not go out on the field without an inspired performance. Once he is on the field, I think Thomas plays at the best of his abilities for the Seahawks. Even if that is not beyond 2018.

But Thomas being on the field means several things. First, Seattle will move Bradley McDougald back to strong safety which is Kam Chancellor‘s old spot. Two, the Seahawks will go into Denver with a lot more experience as Thomas will start and not second-year pro Tedric Thompson. As Gregg Bell of the News Tribune reported, Thomas should play on Sunday against the Broncos.

Lastly, Seattle just became better on Wednesday with Thomas re-joining the team. We shouldn’t worry about 2019. Lots of things can and will happen before then. And Thomas, no matter how he feels now, may or may not play with the Seahawks beyond this year. But having Thomas in 2018 is a good thing because his talent simply cannot be replaced by Seattle right now.