Seattle Seahawks Free Safety Earl Thomas has been one of the most dynamic and dominant safeties in all of football over the past eight seasons. He was drafted in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, has been named to six Pro Bowls, a First-team All-Pro three times, and he is a Super Bowl Champion. As far as a resume and a track record, Earl Thomas surely does have that, no question about it. The main point I am making here is, could the Dallas Cowboys look to trade for the All-Pro safety?
Earl Thomas' impact
Dating back to last season's 21-12 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Earl Thomas was on video heading back to the Dallas Cowboys locker room to catch up with Head Coach Jason Garrett.
Thomas ran up to Garrett and told him: "Come get me whenever the Seahawks decide to dump me." This caught everyone and even the Seahawks organization totally off guard because why would you express the opportunity to play for a team you just kept from making the playoffs? Thomas later cleared up the rumor by saying that he is loyal to the Seahawks, he just wouldn't mind playing for America's Team to end his football career.
Thomas grew up in Orange, Texas and played college football at the University of Texas at Austin, so Texas is where all of his family and childhood friends are and where it all began for him. He expressed his love for the state and how he grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan and the honor it would be to end his career in Dallas if things were to go south with the Seahawks.
How does Thomas fit in Dallas?
The rumors all offseason, other than the Dez Bryant situation, have been that the Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys have been discussing a possible trade for Earl Thomas. Thomas has stated that he is looking to get a deal done as he has skipped offseason workouts which started on April 16th.
The Seahawks aren't considering giving Thomas a new deal as they currently do not hold second and third round picks in this draft. They are looking to rebuild their secondary and bring younger players in through the draft.
The Seahawks' front office no longer have the Legion Of Boom as they have either been injured or released, leaving Thomas as the only piece left on the team.
Dallas has expressed interested as they currently do not have a dynamic free safety on the roster who demands attention. The Cowboys could use Thomas to man the back of the defense, and he could also mentor the young defensive backs the Cowboys drafted in last year's draft.
The biggest reason as to why I think trading Earl Thomas to Dallas makes so much sense is because of former Seahawks defensive backs coach Kris Richard. Kris Richard coached Thomas and the rest of the Legion of Boom during his time in Seattle, his style of coaching is why they were so aggressive and successful at taking the football away. Those two things have been what the Cowboys' secondary have been lacking for over a decade -- they are not aggressive and always in the bottom of the league in takeaways.
Earl Thomas is exactly the type of cornerstone player this defense needs to make a run at a Super Bowl. Defense wins championships and over the past two playoff games against the Green Bay Packers in 2014 and 2016, the Cowboys' defense hasn’t been able to get the job done. Adding Earl Thomas will change that narrative as the Cowboys look to get back to the playoffs.
