Seattle loses safety Earl Thomas for rest of the season

RENTON, Wash. (AP) — It was one thing for the Seattle Seahawks to know they would be without safety Earl Thomas for one game, maybe two.

Now that the former All-Pro safety is done for the rest of the 2016 season — no matter how far Seattle may advance in the playoffs — the Seahawks are facing a new reality for the rest of this year that doesn’t include arguably their most important defensive player on the field.

“I don’t think you’re going to replace Earl Thomas. He’s a very unique player. But he’s very quiet. He’s not a guy who adds a whole lot on the vocal side. He does it with his play,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said on Monday. “Earl is Earl.”

The Seahawks now know the earliest they will see Thomas back on the field is the 2017 season after he suffered a broken lower left leg in Sunday’s 40-7 win over Carolina. While there was an initial thought that Thomas could return if the Seahawks made a deep run in the playoffs, Carroll said further examination on Monday determined the recovery for the fractured tibia is too extensive for the star safety to make it back this season.

It’s a crushing injury to the player that makes Seattle’s defense function perhaps more than any other. And while Steven Terrell is a solid replacement with experience in Seattle’s system and one start already this season, he’s not Thomas, as Carroll said.

“You can’t make up for it. You just try to find some others who can do half of what he does,” Seattle defensive end Michael Bennett said Sunday night. “It’s hard to replace that kind of player who’s a Hall of Fame type of player. You can’t really replace (them).”