Earl Thomas raised the ante Sunday afternoon, when he posted a note on Twitter that essentially told the Seattle Seahawks: pay me, trade me or cut me.
For those of you who want Thomas in Dallas that's fantastic news.
"I will not be attending the upcoming minicamp or any team activities until my contract situation is resolved," Thomas wrote on Twitter. "I want everyone, especially the 12s, to know that I want to remain a Seahawk for the rest of my career but also believe that based on my production over the last 8 years that I've earned the right to have this taken care of as soon as possible.
"I want to have certainty in regards to the upcoming years of my career. I'm going to continue to work my craft and put in work so that I can add to the team and give us the best chance to win. I hope my teammates understand where I'm coming from I believe this is the right thing to do."
Those words increase the odds Thomas, who turned 29 last month, winds up in Dallas sometime during training camp.
It's felt like Thomas was going to wind up in Dallas since the moment he walked into the Cowboys' locker room after Seattle's December victory at AT&T Stadium and implored coach Jason Garrett to, "Come get me."
These days, it just seems like a matter of time until the former Texas Longhorn returns to his native state.
Seattle is rebuilding and has no need for Thomas, who wants to be among the game's highest-paid safeties. He's scheduled to earn $8.5 million this season as he enters the last year of a four-year, $40 million deal.
He wants a raise now.
Kansas City's Eric Berry is the NFL's highest-paid safety at an average of $13 million.
Just so you know, the Seahawks removed a poster from Century Link Field featuring Thomas earlier this offseason.
Coincidence? Nope.
Seattle has already shed defensive ends Michael Bennett and Cliff
Avril, cornerback Richard Sherman and there's a chance safety Kam Chancellor will soon be gone too, the result of a neck injury that threatens his career.
Seattle reportedly tried to send Thomas to the Cowboys for a second-round pick on Day 2 of the NFL draft but the Cowboys just couldn't pass on Texas tackle Connor Williams, who they could plug in at left guard.
These days, Seattle should just be happy to get a fourth-round pick that, maybe, turns into a conditional third-round pick based on certain conditions.
Something is better than nothing and Thomas' statement makes it clear he's not playing in Seattle without a new deal.
Thomas makes sense in Dallas because new passing game coordinator Kris Richard has been his coach for virtually his entire career, so he knows every nuance of the defensive scheme.
He can help the youngsters in the secondary — Chido Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis, Anthony Brown and, yes, Byron Jones — by making sure everybody is lined up properly, whole being a coach on the field.
Plus, he's a proven playmaker with 25 career interceptions, including three different seasons with at least five interceptions. Add him to DeMarcus Lawrence and Sean Lee and the Cowboys would have playmakers at every level of their defense for the first time in forever.
Getting him signed is tricky because Dallas still needs to get long-term deals with guard Zack Martine and Lawrence worked out. And don't forget Dak Prescott is eligible for a new deal at the end of next year.
But the salary cap is always fluid, and during the draft owner Jerry Jones made it clear the Cowboys wouldn't have an issue trading for a player in the last year of his contract.
Teams can create cap-room to sign anybody they want and they can use a lack of cap-room anytime they need an excuse not to sign a player.
Adding Thomas makes the Cowboys' defense good enough to make a deep playoff run, something that hasn't happened in more than 20 years.
Garrett needs to win now. Two playoff wins in eight years is not enough to guarantee job security.
He needs to double his playoff win total this year; Thomas can help him.
— Earl Thomas (@Earl_Thomas) June 10, 2018
