EARL THOMAS ENDS HOLDOUT TO AVOID LOSING GAME CHECKS
DENVER — Earl Thomas was clear.
As clear about why he came back to the Seattle Seahawks to play in their opening game at Denver, that is, as he was writing online last week about the “disrespect” during his just-ended holdout he won’t soon forget.
“Me and my agent talked about it,” Thomas said Sunday following his interception in Seattle’s 27-24 loss to the Broncos, his first game of the final year of his $40 million contract — and his first comments to the media since he ended his holdout in search of a new, rich contract four days earlier.
“We understood that I had a lot of money on the line, and I couldn’t just throw it away,” the former All-American from Texas said. “So basically, I decided to come back. I’m glad I did.”
Nothing about being a part of this Seahawks team again, one so changed since he’d been staying away all winter, spring and summer. Nothing about leading.
It was about what his holdout was about. Each game check for Thomas this season is worth $500,000, 1/17th of his 2018 salary of $8.5 million. As long as he was holding out, he would forgo $500,000 each week.
That was going to add up, quickly.
In June he said he wouldn’t return until the Seahawks either gave him an extension at the top of the NFL market for safeties or traded him.
He was asked Sunday in the visiting locker room at Mile High Stadium if he could put that behind him and play out his contract toward free agency in March. Can he put aside the disrespect he undoubtedly still feels?
“I’m going to try to do the best I can,” Thomas said. “I’m going to try to work my way through it. I’ve got a great team behind me.”
Do you still want to stay in Seattle, be here?
“If they want me, yeah,” Thomas said.
He said of his contract situation “during the game, I’m not thinking about it. I’m having fun with B-Mac (locker neighbor and new safety partner Bradley McDougald, Kam Chancellor’s replacement this season) and the guys. So, yeah, I don’t think about it during the game.
“When I get asked about it constantly, yeah, then it crosses my mind.”
Thomas said his Seahawks teammates “welcomed me back with open arms” Wednesday when he reported and rejoined them for the first time since the 2017 season finale Dec. 31.
“It was a smooth process,” he said. “The coaching staff welcomed me back with open arms. It was a learning curve trying to pick up on all the new stuff.”
That is, his eight different starters on defense and new schemes of Ken Norton Jr., who replaced fired Kris Richard as Seattle’s defensive coordinator in the eight months Thomas was away from the team.
Thomas had an interception that set up Seattle’s first score, Russell Wilson’s pass to rookie tight end Will Dissly. McDougald had two more interceptions of Keenum.
Seattle won the turnover battle yet still lost the game, indicative of how poor it played for much of Sunday.
Yet Thomas enjoyed his return game.
“I had a great time out there, man,” Thomas said. “We haven’t had that many turnovers in a while.”