Welpppppp. Now what?
The Earl Thomas saga is finally over. Unfortunately for 49er fans, he chose to play elsewhere.
Former Seahawks’ S Earl Thomas intends to sign a four-year, $55 million deal that includes $32 million fully guaranteed at signing with the Baltimore Ravens, league source tells ESPN. Deal includes $22 million in first nine months.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2019
The Pro Bowl safety goes to a team that nobody expected. This is a bummer, as Thomas would have been an ideal fit for the 49ers. You have to imagine that the team just couldn’t match that amount of guarantees. Tough to fault the player for that. It’ll be interesting to see how hard the team pushed for Thomas. Or if they were just not even close to the offers he had on the table.
As for the current 49er situation, there are still a couple of solid free agent safeties available. Tre Boston is a popular name, but he’s not as good as he’s being made out to be. He’s fine. But guys like Thomas are a rare breed. Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix would be a heck of a backup plan to me. HCD is versatile and is a very good tackler. That’s important in this defense when you are the literal last line of defense.
As the roster stands now, Adrian Colbert and Jaquiski Tartt are the projected starting safeties next year. D.J. Reed played some free safety and nickel as a rookie last year. Was better as a nickel back than free safety. Jimmie Ward obviously still on the market, and Lynch/Shanahan have said they’d like him back depending on what the market dictates.
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