Baltimore Ravens Will Cut or Trade Earl Thomas After Incident with Teammate at Practice
The Baltimore Ravens will be parting ways with seven-time Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas, two days after he punched teammate Chuck Clark at a team practice.
In the team’s fourth training camp practice of the season, Thomas blew a coverage, and Clark angrily threw his helmet to the ground, causing the two to fight. Coaches and players eventually broke up the ruckus.
Thomas was sent home on Friday and hasn’t returned to the Ravens’ team facility since then. Sources have told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that this incident with Clark was among the many that the hard-hitting safety has been involved with recently.
After a loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 4 last season, Thomas got into a heated confrontation with nose tackle Brandon Williams. In addition, the seven-time Pro Bowl safety has either missed or been late to several meetings during his year-and-a-half stay in Baltimore.
Earl Thomas Baltimore Ravens Contract
Now, the Ravens want to sever all ties with Thomas – whether that means taking a huge financial hit or not. Sources say the team is so frustrated with his antics, that they will gladly take the $15 million salary-cap hit for releasing or trading him. There is language in the contract, though, that may allow Baltimore to void his $10 million guaranteed salary for this season for conduct detrimental to the team.
If the Ravens can avoid paying his guaranteed money, Thomas will count $5 million against the cap this season and $10 million next season.
While the cap situation is a massive burden for the Ravens, Thomas’s absence will decimate their secondary. DeShon Elliott, a 2018 sixth-round pick, will be expected to take over that role now. Baltimore feels confident that the young kid has enough aggressiveness to step into that starter’s role – but what else are they supposed to say?
There should be cause for concern, considering Elliott has been limited to six games over two NFL seasons because of injuries.
Earl Thomas Troubles
This latest situation for Thomas writes on the wall with a Sharpee marker that this guy is a troublemaker. His nine-year run with the Seattle Seahawks ended by flipping the middle finger to head coach Pete Carroll while being carted off the field with a leg injury.
A year and a half ago, the Ravens pried Thomas away from his verbal contract with the Kansas City Chiefs to sign a four-year, $55 million contract with them – it was the largest deal given to a defensive player in franchise history.
FanDuel Super Bowl Odds
This is a huge blow to a team with heavy title aspirations. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Ravens and Chiefs both have +650 odds to win Super Bowl LV – the best of any team in the NFL.
You have to believe those odds are going to change, giving KC the slight advantage now to raise the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.
