Getty Former Seahawks safety Earl Thomas remains unsigned.
Former Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas was expected to sign with the Houston Texans, but the Legion of Boom member is still looking for a new team. NFL insider Josina Anderson reported Thomas’ workout was “put on hold” despite the safety flying into Houston earlier this week.
“I’m told Earl Thomas’ visit with the Texans, which was scheduled for today has been put on hold, for the time being, per source,” Anderson noted on Twitter.
Earlier in the week, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thomas “signing this week is more likely than not” in regards to his future with the Texans. Schefter indicated that Thomas was likely to sign after he went through the COVID-19 protocols. Things took a surprising turn as the Texans appeared to back off their initial interest.
“After a lot of internal discussion, Texans decided Earl Thomas wasn’t a good fit,” Houston Chronicle’s John McClain explained on Twitter.
Texans Head Coach Bill O’Brien Cited COVID-19 Protocol for Canceling Earl Thomas’ Workout
There has been conflicting reports as to the reason for the Texans canceling Thomas’ workout. McClain along with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the Texans decided to move away from signing Thomas. Texans head coach Bill O’Brien cited COVID-19 protocol as the reason for canceling the workout.
“Yesterday, early in the morning we got a phone call from the league relative to Minnesota and Tennessee, what was going on there with those two teams,” O’Brien said, per NFL.com. “So we decided — we had a bunch of guys in here ready to work out — we said instead of keeping those guys holed up in a hotel, potentially to be there several days, we didn’t know at that point. It was better for us to just cancel the workouts. We had several workouts.”
The Ravens Released Thomas After a Conflict With Teammate Chuck Clark
Thomas was released by the Ravens prior to the start of the season after the safety had an altercation with Baltimore teammate Chuck Clark. It appeared to be the final straw in a relationship that was not going as planned. As for the Texans, O’Brien remained non-committal on if the team would bring Thomas back for a rescheduled workout noting “we’ll see how it goes moving forward.”
“Earl Thomas is a hell of a player, he’s had a great career,” O’Brien added, per NFL.com. “Again, we had a bunch of guys in and we decided to cancel. You know, we’ll see how it goes moving forward, but that’s really what it was. It’s not anything other than that. Got a lot of respect for Earl.”
Thomas has now left both the Seahawks and Ravens on not the best of terms. He was once considered among the best safeties in the league but still remains unsigned as the season approaches the one-month mark. It will be worth watching whether Thomas can regain the success he had while in Seattle, but so far it appears red flags are keeping the majority of NFL teams away from the safety.
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