Since breaking his tibia in a Week 12 win over the Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas has strongly considered retiring from the NFL. On Sunday, Thomas confirmed that he will return to the NFL for the 2017 season.
Earl Thomas says he’ll be back next season for the Seahawks
Thomas has considered retirement, but for now, he says he’s coming back in 2017.
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
The retirement talk started for Thomas immediately after the injury. Thomas tweeted that “a lot is running through my mind including retirement.”
Thomas’ teammate Richard Sherman said he thought Thomas’ retirement statement was “a little bit of an exaggeration.”
The first game Thomas had missed in his seven-year NFL career came in Week 12. A hamstring injury sidelined Thomas and broke his streak of 112 consecutive regular season and postseason starts.
After that experience, it sounded like Thomas missed being on the field with his teammates.
“I knew I would try to make it back for this week,” Thomas said. “I’m just happy to be back out there. It was just ... it was just weird for me to see the team out there without me.”
But after breaking his tibia, Thomas was torn between wanting to continue to play and wanting peace from the pressures of the NFL.
“Peace is starting to return to me, bro, and I think that’s my ultimate goal in life,” Thomas said. “I just want to have peace. But I can say when I went back to the [Seahawks’ facility] the other day, my competitive juices came right back. I don’t know, man. I’m kind of caught in between right now.”
Prior to suffering the season-ending injury, Thomas had racked up 48 tackles and two interceptions. He has been a five-time Pro Bowler and a four-time first-team All-Pro selection. Thomas was on the Seahawks team that won Super Bowl XLVIII.
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