Getty Earl Thomas thumbs up on the field.
Well, this is interesting timing.
Minutes after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke in detail about Earl Thomas, the Houston Texans put on hold “for the time being” Tuesday’s visit with the free-agent Pro Bowl safety, former ESPN insider Josina Anderson reported.
Anderson did not specify the reason for the postponement, which may be related to the revelation that eight members of the Tennessee Titans organization tested positive for COVID-19. It also could be interpreted as apprehension to bring aboard, and likely handsomely compensate, a 31-year-old player with associated locker room concerns.
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But it’s a questionable change-of-course as it appeared Thomas was destined to put pen to paper. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday the marriage is “more likely than not” to materialize.
Now that it’s presumably on the rocks, social media dot-connecting immediately drew a parallel to the Cowboys, who have long been linked to the Texas native and badly need defensive reinforcement with starting cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie and Anthony Brown on injured reserve.
Stephen Jones claimed the club would rather look in-house than explore the open market, again resisting the Thomas allure.
Does Jerry feel differently?
“I am aware that Thomas is out there, No. 1,” Jones said Tuesday, via Sports Illustrated. “No. 2, I also am interested at this juncture of improving this team now, right now.
“And, so, you’d assume that I’m right on top of and I am. We are. And what we’re doing will be gauged by that. I know our fans don’t expect to know the details of what might be going on relative to this issue because it’s potentially very competitive and it’s also dependent on our evaluation and just how much we want to act on it. We’re very on top of this and very on top of doing anything we can do to help us the next game and for the rest of the season.”
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Dallas, In Fact, Still Disinterested
This, according to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who reported, citing a “source close to Thomas,” there is “still nothing serious going on regarding talks with Cowboys.”
Assuming this holds up, Dallas will continue deploying Xavier Woods and Darian Thompson as the starting safeties. The two combined for nine tackles (six solo) in last Sunday’s 38-31 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Stephen Jones singled out practice-squad DBs Rashard Robinson and Steven Parker as potential depth options. The team also has sophomore Donovan Wilson, who logged zero defensive snaps in Week 3, available to chip in.
“Hopefully, we’ve got some guys who are coming our way in terms of guys coming off the three-week IR,” Jones said. “We really feel like, with what we have in our camp right now – had a couple guys we’ve got on the practice squad that made some headway last week that aren’t quite ready. But overall, feel like we’ve got the guys here on campus, ultimately, that can get the job done.”
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL