Earl Thomas Wouldn't Upgrade Cowboys Safeties(!?), Analyst Says
FRISCO - There are myriad reasons why the Dallas Cowboys' answer on pursuing free-agent safety Earl Thomas is a "no'' - or, more accurately, a "not right now.'' But his inability to play football ain't one of them.
NFL analyst Chris Simms offers an alternative opinion, saying of the seven-time Pro Bowler just dumped for behavioral reasons by the Baltimore Ravens, "At this point, Earl Thomas is firmly a middle of the pack safety. He is ... arguably not an upgrade for the Cowboys.''
I'm going to work on the assumption that Simms, the former NFL QB now working for ProFootballTalk.com, is basing his opinion on having watched Thomas start 15 games last year for the powerful Ravens defense ... and somehow coming away unimpressed. (For the record: I've spoken to representatives of four NFL teams, including the Cowboys, and their evaluations of Thomas the player are not negative.)
READ MORE: BREAKING: Cowboys Jerry Jones On Earl Thomas: 'Not Right Now'
But I'm also going to work on the assumption that Simms is either trolling or has too little knowledge of what's going on in the Dallas secondary, where outside of incumbent Xavier Woods, they are building this unit from scratch.
Clinton-Dix, with his history of ball-hawking, was thought to be automatic as Woods' running mate. But recently the name of journeyman Darian Thompson was broached by head coach Mike McCarthy, who said Thompson is "having a great camp."
Meanwhile, as CowboysSI.com reported exclusively, rookie Reggie Robinson II has been told he's been shuffled from corner to safety. And another youngster, Texas A&M's Donovan Wilson, could still come on. (He got some premium snaps here at The Star on Thursday.)
But in their heart of hearts, not even Thompson, Robinson and Wilson themselves believe they're superior to Earl Thomas. And while Clinton-Dix could try to make such an argument (I watched as he recorded an impressive pick-6 interception in Thursday's workout) ... he's got his hands full trying to beat out journeymen, forget future Hall-of-Famers.
Earl Thomas' problems are not football-related. I've detailed those here at CowboysSI.com as fairly as possible. They are emotional and behavioral and even legal ... but they aren't football-related. Dallas is well-aware of the issues that plague the Texas native, thus the Cowboys' reasoning for slowing/stopping their two-year-long dance with him. And no, as ESPN reported, Dallas was never "the leading contender'' for his services; the Cowboys had not come close to advancing that far when Adam Schefter wrote that five days ago.
READ MORE: Ravens Release Earl Thomas; Inside The 'Leading Contender' Story
Woods said this week that public judgments of his work don't phase him. “I just can control what I can control,” said Woods. “That’s the bottom line. I know my worth. I know that I can play and that’s all that matters to me.''
And the other Cowboys safeties should feel the same way. But none of them - and none of the observers who think they know what's going on here - should pretend they're the next coming of Earl Thomas.
