Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas didn’t end his holdout until the NFL preseason was over, in search of a contract extension. It’s gotten ugly enough between Thomas and the Seahawks that trade rumors have continued over the last few weeks (particularly with the Dallas Cowboys), and he even skipped two recent practices (which the Seahawks fined him for).
Despite the contract dispute, Thomas has still been playing for the Seahawks, and has looked like his usual All-Pro self, with three interceptions on the season.
But Sunday in the Seahawks’ 20-17 victory over the Cardinals, Earl Thomas was carted off with a fractured leg. And when Thomas was carted off, he flipped off the Seattle sideline.
So, now Thomas definitely isn’t getting that contract extension anytime soon, and he’s definitely not going to be traded to another team anytime soon. While flipping off his own team isn’t a great look, it’s easy to understand his frustration here. This is exactly why players are in search of long term financial security in a league that can cause serious, career-threatening injuries at any moment.
As for what this means for the Seahawks, well, their secondary just got a whole lot worse. Game-changing playmakers like Thomas are very hard to find and opposing quarterbacks will attack the Seattle secondary with a bit more confidence going forward.