The Case Against an Earl Thomas Trade

[jay94]

The case for bottom five safety group in the league and he has been arguably the best safety in the league. It's pretty typical for fans to overstate the talent of this team on a yearly basis. Age besides wear and tear concern is not as big as deal for safety as the position has more to do with instincts than just pure speed, which I am sure ET has more then enough to adequately play the position.

 

[TwoDeep3]

I do not agree with:

Diminished skills
Bad attitude
Too old
Too expensive
Team is set without him

He is a leader and a play maker. So when I see people suggesting the above I have to ask,

"Do you really believe this defense doesn't need another leader and play maker?"
"Are you telling me what essentially would be another coach on the field, like Sean Lee, would not be beneficial to the Cowboy?".
"Are you one of the people continually griping about the defense, and here is a distinct upgrade for that squad and you turn your nose up?"
"Am I to understand you think the eight years of rebuilding is complete and this team doesn't need a player who has been there and done that in regard to winning in the play-offs?"

I'd just like to know the thinking behind why fans, who have exactly nothing to do with the cap, use this as a slander of this player. Why people seem to believe this team is set on defense.

How the yearly complaint about the safety position is voiced here over and over come draft time. But when you have a proven product which may.....MAY... be available, how anyone could believe that would not help this franchise over the next few years.

Just in case....


Definition of may
past might play \ˈmīt\; present singular and plural may

c —used to indicate possibility or probability

• you may be right

• things you may need

—sometimes used interchangeably with can

 

[Bob-Lillys-War]

Earl Thomas is a beast ... if he lost a step, he is still the best player on our defense, except of course for sean 'glassman' lee, that guy is amazing. (when healthy) there is no one better .

 

[JustChip]

Not from me. Dak has a few issues that create legit concerns for some but he won’t be the reason they fail. Not being able to stop good QBs throwing on our safeties will be.

That wasn’t directed at you. I was just making an editorial statement about the preponderance of posts on here ragging on Dak.

 

[J12B]

The case for:

We will have the cap space going forward to sign him to a long term deal. It is said he wants Seattle to pay him more than Berry, but I suspect if he were coming here, he'd take a bit less.

We have to D-Law and Dak to sign. We have enough big name players. Best to address safety in the draft next year or maybe ET's value will decrease even more when he becomes a free agent next year and we can sign him cheaper and keep all of our draft capital.

 

[JustChip]

The case for:

1) He's better than any safety we have on the roster, easily.

2) We have $14.5MM in cap space this year, we would carry him at $8.5MM this year, more than reasonable for an upper echelon safety.

3) We will have the cap space going forward to sign him to a long term deal. It is said he wants Seattle to pay him more than Berry, but I suspect if he were coming here, he'd take a bit less.

4) He's be a big asset on the field as well as mentor for our young safeties.

5) He didn't go to the Texans camp. He went to UT as people have pointed out. There have also never been any complaints about him as a bad teammate or malcontent. He wants to get paid as do a lot of players have in his same position.

6) Dallas doesn't have to panic here because they know Seattle is in a bind. So no, there is no chance the Cowboys would give up a 2019 for him even if they thought he was a big piece to maybe making a SB run.

7) 3rd rounder or less and maybe a player? Absolutely. Get her done. He makes our defense close to elite if they get solid DT play.

Excellent post!

 

[Verdict]

Won’t impact the cap. We won’t want to pay Lawrence so there will be plenty of money to keep paying offensive linemen .

Did we get some sort of exemption to sign ET that makes his salary miraculously not count against the cap? If so sign him yesterday! I'm in.

 

[Sydla]

I don't think ET wants to play for $8M per year. Or maybe I'm missing something.

He wants an extension so you could structure the deal where he plays for the 8.5MM base salary he has this year, possibly guaranteeing the full amount.

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

Yes. Earl Thomas is significantly better than Boston, Vaccaro.

Boston, if he plays well, would net $3MM. Thomas, who would still be better, would get paid $8.5MM this year. Yeah, that $5.5MM is worth the different in their play IMO.

You used the absolute highest amount that Boston could earn, and the absolute lowest value of Thomas for this year(it wont be $8.5M because he wont play without an exteneion thatll bump his AAV up). And you didnt mention draft compensation. Lets say its $11M after extension and use $2.25M for Boston. Thays a difference of $8.75M or La'el Collins size contract.

If given the chance I'm choosing Boston, Lael, and Gallup over just Thomas every day of the week.

 

[Sydla]

We have to D-Law and Dak to sign. We have enough big name players. Best to address safety in the draft next year or maybe ET's value will decrease even more when he becomes a free agent next year and we can sign him cheaper and keep all of our draft capital.

People overvalue mid round draft picks, especially when it can land you an upper echelon player at a position of need.

 

[Sydla]

You used the absolute highest amount that Boston could earn, and the absolute lowest value of Thomas for this year(it wont be $8.5M because he wont play without an exteneion thatll bump his AAV up). And you didnt mention draft compensation. Lets say its $11M after extension and use $2.25M for Boston. Thays a difference of $8.75M or La'el Collins size contract.

If given the chance I'm choosing Boston, Lael, and Gallup over just Thomas every day of the week.

I used the highest value because if he plays well he’d likely get the 3MM. The comparison is that even at his best, Boston is still a significant downgrade from Thomas. If he doesn’t meet his incentives than that likely means Boston want very good or got hurt, which in that case Thomas would be a massive upgrade over Boston.

And don’t assume his AAV goes up this year. It would all depend on the contract extension and the timing of the contract. My guess is he would be far more flexible here in Dallas since he wants to be back in Texas than he has been with Seattle.

 

[Aviano90]

Did we get some sort of exemption to sign ET that makes his salary miraculously not count against the cap? If so sign him yesterday! I'm in.

Being consumed with the cap to the point you’re terrified to sign any talent isn’t a good thing.

 

[Clove]

We've gone 20 plus years without serious success. If giving a draft pick and paying a proven player gets us closer, just do it man.

 

[Verdict]

The case for:

1) He's better than any safety we have on the roster, easily.

Well, he used to be. It remains to be seen if he still is better or not, or whether he is just another high paid progress stopper. The jury is out on that.

2) We have $14.5MM in cap space this year, we would carry him at $8.5MM this year, more than reasonable for an upper echelon safety.

We could. That part is true. Do we want to? Maybe.

Is he still upper echelon? Undecided. Will he be worth an extension, far less of a certainty.

3) We will have the cap space going forward to sign him to a long term deal. It is said he wants Seattle to pay him more than Berry, but I suspect if he were coming here, he'd take a bit less.

That's conjecture. He seems to want to get paid more than we are currently willing to pay (considering the draft pick compensation) or he would already be a Cowboy.

4) He's be a big asset on the field as well as mentor for our young safeties.

That's the theory, but is it reality? It's really just projection at this point.

5) He didn't go to the Texans camp. He went to UT as people have pointed out. There have also never been any complaints about him as a bad teammate or malcontent. He wants to get paid as do a lot of players have in his same position.

What planet are you on? He is currently a malcontent. That's why he is not at camp. He lobbied for a job while working for someone else. You aren't being realistic.

6) Dallas doesn't have to panic here because they know Seattle is in a bind. So no, there is no chance the Cowboys would give up a 2019 for him even if they thought he was a big piece to maybe making a SB run.

That's true. No need for Dallas to panic. The bigger question is should he be a Cowboy and at what price? Less definite.

7) 3rd rounder or less and maybe a player? Absolutely. Get her done. He makes our defense close to elite if they get solid DT play.

Yes, again he might. He might be an upgrade over what we have, but young guys do develop, so it's not a certainty. ET's best days are probably in the rear view mirror.

 

[Aviano90]

We've gone 20 plus years without serious success. If giving a draft pick and paying a proven player gets us closer, just do it man.

But we have to win the cap, man!

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

I used the highest value because if he plays well he’d likely get the 3MM. The comparison is that even at his best, Boston is still a significant downgrade from Thomas.

And don’t assume his AAV goes up this year. It would all depend on the contract extension and the timing of the contract. My guess is he would be far more flexible here in Dallas since he wants to be back in Texas than he has been with Seattle.

We will see. Even if hes not on our roster I still look forward to monitoring Earl's effectiveness and health this season.

Boston is younger and less of an injury risk so there's a chance Boston outplays him, although not a huge chance.

 

[Clove]

But we have to win the cap, man!

haha, other teams have no problems with that... Philadelphia among others.

 

[Bob-Lillys-War]

Earl Thomas is a proven winning leader ...

We need at least one of those in our team .

 

[Verdict]

I do not agree with:

Diminished skills
Bad attitude
Too old
Too expensive
Team is set without him

He is a leader and a play maker. So when I see people suggesting the above I have to ask,

"Do you really believe this defense doesn't need another leader and play maker?"
"Are you telling me what essentially would be another coach on the field, like Sean Lee, would not be beneficial to the Cowboy?".
"Are you one of the people continually griping about the defense, and here is a distinct upgrade for that squad and you turn your nose up?"
"Am I to understand you think the eight years of rebuilding is complete and this team doesn't need a player who has been there and done that in regard to winning in the play-offs?"

I'd just like to know the thinking behind why fans, who have exactly nothing to do with the cap, use this as a slander of this player. Why people seem to believe this team is set on defense.

How the yearly complaint about the safety position is voiced here over and over come draft time. But when you have a proven product which may.....MAY... be available, how anyone could believe that would not help this franchise over the next few years.

Just in case....


Definition of may
past might play \ˈmīt\; present singular and plural may

c —used to indicate possibility or probability

• you may be right

• things you may need

—sometimes used interchangeably with can

Do we want another Sean Lee on the field? Yes, please.

Is ET another Sean Lee? I don't know about that. I don't think so, but he might bring something to the party. But he is expensive.

You can't pay to bring in Sean Lee and end up with a passionate "Dez Bryant" instead.

 

[Verdict]

Earl Thomas is a proven winning leader ...

We need at least one of those in our team .

ET is just one of 53 guys. He hasn't cured cancer all by himself.