Thomas discusses practice scuffle
Safety addresses dust-up, future with team uncertain
Ravens safety Earl Thomas III responded Saturday to growing speculation about the aftershocks of his sideline scuffle Friday, acknowledging that he’d been sent home and kept out of practice after confronting fellow starter Chuck Clark for a “mental error” that Thomas made.
Assistant head coach David Culley said after practice Saturday morning that it was an “organizational decision” to not have Thomas practice one day after the incident with Clark, who did practice. Culley said Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who is scheduled to speak Sunday, would discuss the matter later.
Clark confronted Thomas on the sideline late in Friday’s practice after a coverage breakdown in 11-on-11 action. Thomas put up his fists, and the players had to be separated by teammates. After Clark continued arguing with Thomas a couple of minutes later, he had to be held back until teammates led him away from the practice fields and to the team facility.
About 90 minutes after the conclusion of Saturday’s practice, Thomas shared practice footage on his Instagram account of the play that he said sparked the confrontation with Clark, calling it a “mental error on my part.” After the long completion, Clark can be seen throwing his helmet to the ground.
“Being sent home sucks,” Thomas wrote in a since-deleted post. “I can’t take the reps I need to keep momentum going […] But I can reflect on things and keep working my plan to help the team win.”
Thomas said he tried to “explain calmly” the play to a teammate, likely Clark, and that “built up aggression turned into me getting into [it] with a teammate.”
Harbaugh said after practice Friday that “you’re going to have these things in training