Should the Jaguars Consider Signing Free Agent Safety Earl Thomas?

Once known as the premier safety of the NFL, the leader of the Legion of Boom and arguably the best pure free safety since Ed Reed's legendary career, a lot of things have changed for Earl Thomas in recent years.

After nine years, one Super Bowl ring, six Pro Bowls and three First-Team All-Pro Selections, Thomas' tenure with the Seattle Seahawks ended in tumultuous fashion following the 2018 season. Fast forward a little over a year, and Thomas is once again searching for a new team after his relationship with the Baltimore Ravens completely eroded.

Thomas' lone season in Baltimore was relatively uneventful. After signing a four-year, $55 million deal, Thomas recorded just two interceptions and a career-low four pass deflections, with the safety finding himself on the other end of a few big runs by opponents (see Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry) more often than he found himself making a game-changing play.

Thomas' time in Baltimore ended over the weekend, however, with the Ravens terminating Thomas' contract for personal conduct that has adversely affected the team. This came off the heels of Thomas reportedly punching Ravens safety Chuck Clark during a training camp practice, which led to the Ravens then keeping Thomas off of the practice field.

So with Thomas now an unexpected free agent and able to sign with any team that comes calling, it is time to ask the question of whether the Jaguars should explore adding the once-elite safety.

Thomas' career obviously comes with a strong resume. Aside from his Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors, Thomas separated himself from the pack and established himself as the NFL's top free safety during his peak with the Seahawks. In fact, it can be argued that Thomas was the most important member of Seattle's vaunted secondary during their mid-2010s run.

In 10 seasons, Thomas has played and started in 140 regular season games, recording 30 interceptions, 12 forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries, 713 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 71 pass deflections. Add in his two interceptions in 13 playoff starts, and Thomas has seen and done it all during his career.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Jaguars have a safety group that is filled with either inexperienced rookies or young players who have started but not yet come close to reaching the heights Thomas met with the Seahawks.

Jacksonville's starting safeties Ronnie Harrison and Jarrod Wilson have completed a combined six seasons in the NFL prior to this year, with the two combining for five interceptions in that time. The Jaguars are high on their starting safety duo, with Wilson known as a terrific communicator and Harrison known as one of the secondary's biggest playmakers. But it is obvious that neither has accomplished close to what Thomas has in his career and adding Thomas would instantly give the Jaguars more experience and credibility at the position.

While Thomas didn't exactly light it up in Baltimore in terms of production, he still had a relatively solid season. He was a key piece to a Ravens secondary which, by the end of the year, was among the best in the league. For data on just how good Thomas was last season, look no further than Pro Football Focus.

"When Thomas was in coverage, he allowed just 0.17 yards per coverage snap, which was the fifth-best mark of any safety with over 350 coverage snaps during the 2019 regular season. He also ranked fourth among safeties in targets against per coverage snap in the slot (25.5), displaying some versatility there, as well," PFF wrote.

Adding Thomas would mean even less room in the Jaguars' already crowded safety room, which features promising players such as Andrew Wingard, Daniel Thomas, Josh Jones, Brandon Watson and J.R. Reed. But the upside to adding Thomas offsets any potential loss of safety depth, while it would also move Wilson to the No. 3 safety role he performed in prior to 2019.

Thomas is also a perfect fit for the Jaguars' cover 3-heavy scheme. Defensive coordinator Todd Wash was Seattle's defensive line coach for two seasons (2011-12) during Thomas' tenure, so he likely knows exactly how well Thomas would fit in his scheme, which isn't much different from what Seattle has run under Pete Carroll.

But when it comes to Thomas, there are more factors at play than simply his talent and how he improve Jacksonville's secondary.

Thomas, for as talented as he is, has proven to be a tough player to manage in the locker room. If a team like the Ravens, who are regarded as one of the best-run franchises in the entire league, got fed up enough with Thomas to make the costly decision to release him after just one year, red flags have to be raised.

The Ravens may have to take on a $15 million salary cap hit for Thomas this year, unless they can void his guaranteed salary for conduct detrimental to the team. Simply put, releasing Thomas was a financial backfire for the Ravens, but they deemed it a move worth finalizing due to Thomas' issues in the locker room.

If the Ravens, who are a clear Super Bowl contender and led by one of the league's most respected coaches in John Harbaugh, can't get Thomas to get on board with their culture and vision, can anyone? It is a question that, at this point, has to be asked by any team that is interested in Thomas.

For the Jaguars, they dealt with their fair share of drama over the last two seasons and it is clear the team wants to move past that phase in their history. The Jaguars want to hit a reset button on their culture, which was made evident this offseason by investments in players known as strong locker room presences like Joe Schobert, Shaquille Quarterman, K'Lavon Chaisson and more.

So while the Jaguars could certainly use Thomas' talents, would they think he is worth any potential headaches? It is hard to envision the Jaguars pursuing Thomas for this reason. If the last several seasons had not been as chaotic in Jacksonville, it may be a different story. But for now, the Jaguars may want to focus on not rocking the boat, even if it means not signing a top talent like Thomas.

According to Spotrac, the Jaguars also have just $13,395,350 in available cap space. Thomas is unlikely to command a large deal due to the circumstances of his availability, but the Jaguars won't have a lot of money to throw around until the 2021 offseason.

Should the Jaguars consider signing Thomas? Strictly from an on-field perspective, probably. He is still a really, really good safety, and would probably be their best defensive back from day one. But add in the off-field considerations, and it is a bit tougher to make a case for Thomas in Jacksonville.