The Baltimore Ravens announced on Sunday The shocking departure of Earl Thomas, seven times in the Pro Bowl. The move comes after the Hall of Fame defensive runner was sent home after an altercation with fellow security colleague and teammate Chuck Clark passed last week.
The Baltimore to Thomas resolution comes one season after starting his tenure with the team after signing a four-year, $55 million contract in March 2019. He made $22 million this season. Although the Ravens will look to come after their $10 million salary for the 2020 season under the pretext of their negative behavior for the team.
Immediately after Thomas’ of Baltimore, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that the San Francisco 49ers were among the groups that joined him.
There is an apparent link between San Francisco and Thomas. First, the 49ers’ Pro Bowl corner Richard Sherman joined Thomas to form the most notable high school duo in the Divisional Divisional Divisions of the Seattle Seahawks from 2011 to 2017. Both helped Seattle earn a Super Bowl name while dominating rival offenses.
San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh also worked with Thomas as Seattle’s defensive quality coach from 2011 to 2013.
In fact, that creates a scenario in which 49ers general manager John Lynch will have to kick Thomas’ tires, 31. The only question here is whether signing it makes sense from a monetary point of view and from a football point of view.
The short answer to this is a resounding yes. Saleh leads the same defensive that saw the veteran win six trips to the Pro Bowl in nine seasons with Seattle. It’s a very high point of security and who has worked well with the aforementioned Sherman in the past.
However, there is much more to see here. San Francisco recently hired Jimmie Ward on a three-year, $28.5 million contract in March. That included $13.5 million guaranteed at the firm, roughly linking the former first-round pick to the 49ers in the 2021 season.
Despite injuries over the vast majority of his six-year career, Ward proved to be a blessing to San Francisco last season. According to Pro Football Focus (albeit subjective in nature), Ward scored more than Thomas last season. The latter was higher in pass coverage, which is a vital facet in today’s NFL, satisfied with passes.
Signing Thomas wouldn’t leave Ward off the field. One of the things San Francisco bosses appreciate in their existing initial loose safety is their ability to play positions. Ward can be aligned on a forged protection and in a corner of the groove. He also played a while as a limit cornerer.
That’s where it gets interesting. San Francisco has an injury-plagued protection for Jaquiski Tartt, who also played very well last season. The challenge here is that Tartt has missed 19 games in the last 3 seasons.
Any movement to point to Thomas would be made thinking that Ward and/or Tartt will continue to be bitten by the injury virus. If any of them stay healthy during the 2020 season, Ward himself would split the time among 4 other defensive positions while playing most commonly in the slot machine.
Of course, it’s all due to the fact that San Francisco’s top executives think Ward is a better choice on the slot device than current incumbent K’Waun Williams. He allowed a quarterback score of 69.3 last season, a moment between the corners of normal slot machines in the NFL.
More than anything, adding Thomas to the combination would give Saleh a piece of chess. Whether this makes sense depends heavily on the factor.
In this political season, it makes sense to use a term from DC. It’s the economy, stupid! Given the existing scenario related to the decline in NFL revenue similar to the COVID-19 pandemic, finance plays a huge role.
The NFL’s salary cap could be reduced by $25 million next season. San Francisco itself will have to re-sign as Trent Williams and Richard Sherman, among others, after handing George Kittle a record contract before this month.
If San Francisco signaled to Thomas, it would take a one-year contract. At this point, a multi-year commitment to the aging veteran makes a lot of sense.
The 49ers currently have $10.32 million below the limit. They would like to have about $5 million for paintings in the run-up to Week 1. That leaves a lot of room for manoeuvre. Regardless of what Thomas signs, Baltimore will likely have to cover much of it for the 2020 season. That puts groups like the 49ers in a better position given their current situation.
It would be foolish for San Francisco to oppose the option of adding Thomas to the mix. I’m pretty sure Richard Sherman is already in the ears of the team’s top commanders.
That said, it doesn’t make much sense for football to bring Thomas on the combined one right now. Tickets for the best schools in San Francisco are established. Instead, the team will look for depth. That’s the plan for the next three weeks.
Editor-in-chief of Sportsnaut, Forbes contributor. Seen on Fox Sports and MSN. I heard on Fox Sports Radio and ESPN Radio. Previous signatories include: Bleacher
Editor-in-chief of Sportsnaut, Forbes contributor. Seen on Fox Sports and MSN. I heard on Fox Sports Radio and ESPN Radio. Previous signers include: Bleacher Report, Pro Football Focus, Yahoo! Sports and eDraft.