Like a high stakes poker game, Seattle Seahawks six time Pro Bowl Safety Earl Thomas showed his hand by announcing via his twitter account that he would not be attending the teams upcoming three day mini-camp until his contract situation is resolved.
The move by Thomas not totally unexpected forces the Seahawks to at least show a card or two. Thomas is entering the final season of a four year, $40 million contract so technically he is under contract and is required to attend the Seahawks three-day minicamp. Any NFL player under contract can face a fine of $84,435 for missing mini-camp according to the leagues collective bargaining agreement. Players can be fined up to $14,070 for Day One, $28,150 for Day Two and $42, 215 for Day three. Teams do not have to impose the fines but have the right to do so if they wish.
The question is how much of their hand will the Seahawks show. The last time the Seahawks hand was forced was in 2015 when strong safety Kam Chancellor held out, missed training camp and reported after missing the first two games of the season without a contract.
The likely hood of history repeating its self is very unlikely. Head Coach Peter Carroll and John Schneider are eager to move past last year underachieving season and lockerroom distractions. The Seahawks have undergone a reboot of the roster and the coaching staff. A contract holds out would derail the Seahawks plans of moving forward.
Carroll spoke to the media after the teams Organized Team Activities ( OTA’s) and stressed how the energy and mentality had changed.
“Today is really kind of the final exam for this offseason. We’ve been through Phase 1, 2 and 3 now, so today was about putting them in as many situations as we could to see how much they understand about our football, make them have to think and use all the installation that has been presented to the guys. And we had really good work today, got a ton of situations taken care of, and I really thought the guys were really focused into it. We’ve had a very, very good offseason to this point.
We’ve got minicamp coming up this week, then it’ll be in the book for this season. We’ve made a lot of progress, there has been a lot of communication emphasis here between coaches and players, and players and players, across the board. I’m really pleased with what we’re seeing. Energy was great again, and really we look like we’ve recaptured the mentality that we need to practice the way we need to practice. We’ll get through this minicamp, then when we come back is when we really start football.
