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Earl Thomas Trade Rumors: Seahawks Star Told Raiders Owner Mark Davis to Get Him
July 24, 2018
Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas would welcome a trade to the Oakland Raiders, NBC Sports Radio's Newy Scruggs reported Tuesday.
According to Scruggs, Thomas approached Raiders owner Mark Davis and informed him of his desire for a move to the Bay Area.
Scruggs also noted Thomas won't report to Seahawks training camp and plans to sell his house in the Seattle area.
Thomas is in the final year of his contract with the Seahawks. In a post on Instagram, he asked Seattle to trade him if the team doesn't want to agree to a long-term extension.
"Extend .....if you don't want me let's make a trade happen I understand it's a bizz," Thomas wrote.
Thomas would unquestionably be an upgrade for Oakland's secondary. Reggie Nelson, the Raiders' incumbent starter, finished 30th in Bleacher Report's NFL1000 year-end free safety rankings, compared to sixth for Thomas.
Moving on from Nelson wouldn't be too difficult, either. He'd count for $1.15 million in dead money against the salary cap in 2018 while freeing up $1.35 million.
However, Spotrac estimates the Raiders to have $5.7 million in salary cap space this year, while Thomas has a $10.4 million cap hit. Oakland will also be reserving a large chunk of its available cap space in 2019 for Khalil Mack, who's a free agent after this season. The Raiders will want to either re-sign Mack to an extension or place the franchise tag on him—either of which will be expensive in the short term.
As much as Thomas would help the Raiders on the field, the investment necessary to acquire him and then sign him to an extension may rule Oakland out of a possible move.