The football gods weren’t very kind to Earl Thomas this past Sunday.
The veteran safety, who’s been at odds with the Seahawks over a new contract dating back to the offseason, broke a bone in his leg in Seattle’s Week 4 game against the Arizona Cardinals. The injury prompted an early end to the season for Thomas, who flipped his middle finger to the Seahawks’ bench as he was carted off the State Farm Stadium field.
Thomas had made his desires very clear to Seattle prior to the season. The 29-year-old wanted a new long-term deal, and if there wasn’t one in the pipeline, then he preferred to be traded. Well, it appears the Seahawks weren’t terribly far from fulfilling the latter prior to the six-time Pro Bowl selection going down with injury.
According to Yahoo! Sports’ Terez Paylor, the Chiefs had been working on bringing Thomas to Kansas City.
“The Chiefs, in particular, were particularly annoyed with the development, as sources tell Yahoo Sports that although the two teams couldn’t agree on a trade this past week, the two sides were inching closer toward a deal and there was internal optimism something would be struck before the deadline,” Paylor writers.
Paylor’s report doesn’t come as a total stunner. NFL.com previously had noted that the Chiefs “continued to inquire” about Thomas as the safety’s future in Seattle became more uncertain. Kansas City’s safety depth, especially with Eric Berry sidelined, is mediocre at best, so the addition of Thomas would have been a big boost for the Chiefs.
Either way, Sunday likely marked the last game with the Seahawks for Thomas, whose contract expires at season’s end. So if the Chiefs still are high on Thomas’ abilities in the offseason, they’ll have the opportunity to pursue him without the headache of working through a trade.
