The Seahawks were close to trading Earl Thomas to the Chiefs, but the timing seems weird

Going into this week’s game against the Cardinals, the season really, there was no doubting that Seahawks safety Earl Thomas was unhappy with his current contract situation. He skipped all of training camp and some practices had been doing what he felt like he needed to do in order to protect his value and his future earning potential. Unfortunately, he fractured his left leg in the fourth quarter of the game, ending his season and any potential for a trade.

The last visage of Thomas in a Seahawks uniform was of an obviously frustrated player flipping off the Seahawks sideline. It’s unclear whether he was giving the middle finger to the entire team or just its leadership, but that’s what it looked like.

Before Thomas broke his leg, Seattle had been testing the waters on trading Thomas. Most recently, they were in conversations with the Kansas City Chiefs (who desperately need some defensive help), but the deal got caught up on the draft pick compensation for Thomas.

It’s been widely reported that the Seahawks have been stuck on two second-round draft picks as compensation for Thomas, but NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Seahawks had lowered their asking price. The Cowboys offered a single second-round pick to them before the season, but it was turned down.

Why would the Seahawks leak this right after Thomas fractured his leg? The idea that the Chiefs would be interested in Thomas is very believable considering the state of their defense. What doesn’t make sense is for this report to come out right after he suffered a season-ending injury.

It doesn’t even make the Seahawks look any better, legitimately concerned about Thomas’ career, if that’s what they were going for. Before Rapoport’s report, Pete Carroll went on a local radio show in Seattle to say that Thomas and the team were in a good place, and had “made progress” getting there. The coach added, “[Thomas] was moving forward, having fun and loving playing” before his injury. All of it making things sound as if Thomas’ and his middle finger were merely frustrated by the injury itself and not the situation before that.

The Seahawks are saying the right things in the wake of Thomas’ injury, but something seems a bit off with the timing of this report. Either way, Thomas’ season is over and he’ll be a free agent after the season.