‘Emotions Haven’t Hit Me Yet’: Earl Thomas Bracing for Return to Seattle
Gearing up to travel to Seattle and face his former team for the first time on Sunday, Ravens veteran safety Earl Thomas insists he isn’t approaching this game any differently than he would any other week.
"I'm just trying to get the game plan down and take it one day at a time and get my body right for the game.” Thomas told reporters on Wednesday. “No emotions yet. Nothing has really hit me yet."
But it wouldn’t be surprising at all if Thomas felt vindictive going into a matchup against the Seahawks. Not after the ugly fallout that took place between the iconic player and organization that led to his departure.
After all, Thomas served as one of the pillars of Seattle’s vaunted ‘Legion of Boom” secondary, guiding the team to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances. He earned three First-Team All-Pro selections, played in six Pro Bowls, and recorded nearly 700 tackles and 28 interceptions in eight seasons with the team.
But when the time came to get paid, the Seahawks decided the aging Thomas wasn’t worth a long-term extension as the league’s highest-paid free safety anymore. And the former Texas standout didn’t do himself any favors when he paraded into the Cowboys locker room and pleaded for coach Jason Garrett to “come get me” after a critical Week 16 win in Dallas late in the 2017 season.
Set to turn 30 years old in the near future, dealing with injury issues in recent seasons, and showing interest in other teams, Seattle’s stance was somewhat understandable from a business perspective. But Thomas rightfully felt slighted after being such a critical component of the team’s success over the years.
On Wednesday, Thomas indicated that he felt he was being phased out during his final few years in Seattle in favor of paying linebackers such as Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright.
The inability to make headway in negotiations burned bridges between the player and organization, leading to a lengthy holdout by Thomas that extended into training camp and the preseason. When he returned for the start of the regular season, the disgruntled star continued to play at an elite level, intercepting three passes in the first four games.
Unfortunately, the last memory of Thomas in a Seahawk uniform won’t be him picking off an opponent. Instead, after breaking his leg late in a Week 4 win over Arizona, he flipped the bird to Seattle’s sideline while being carted off, later admitting the gesture was meant for coach Pete Carroll and not his teammates.
Rather than focus on all of the negativity and the messy divorce, however, Thomas circumvented a question about entering Seattle as an enemy this time around.
"It doesn't matter who I'm playing for.” Thomas said. “I'm just going out there to try to win. Maybe when I get to the visiting locker room and see how it feels, maybe it will add something to that. But, other than that, it's business as usual. I'm going out there to make plays and try to help us win."
On the field, Thomas is looking forward to the opportunity to compete against quarterback Russell Wilson for the first time. Holding the highest respect for his former teammate, he’s banking on his ample experience practicing against the MVP front runner paying off for him and his new team.
“I’m always going to have nothing but positivity in talking about Russ.” Thomas stated. “When you think about all games we played together, there have been some times where he struggled, but there have been more times when he came through for us when we needed him.”
Despite leaving unceremoniously for Baltimore, Thomas has maintained contact with many of his former coaches and teammates. In regard to whether or not he’ll talk to Carroll or any other staff members, he’s going to “take it as it comes.”
As far as the fans are concerned? Thomas admittedly has thought about how 12s who cheered him on for so many years will react to him running on the field wearing purple and black.
Returning to where his illustrious career started, he hopes they’ll remember all of the great moments he had as Seahawk and won’t hold his decision to leave against him.
"Hopefully they respect what I've done, get a couple of cheers and not too many boos. Hopefully, it's love."
