Earl Thomas originally thought he’d play for the Chiefs
By Matt Conner
The Kansas City Chiefs were the early favorites to land Earl Thomas until the Baltimore Ravens came in with a “mega-deal” for the safety.
The Kansas City Chiefs apparently came fairly close to landing Earl Thomas on a short-term deal this offseason—that is, until the Baltimore Ravens came in with a contract offer he could not refuse.
The Chiefs had already tried to trade for the veteran safety when he was still with the Seattle Seahawks last season. Thomas, however, broke his leg at the most unfortunate time and the deal never went through. After the season, when the Seahawks let Thomas hit free agency, the Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys were two of the teams most favored to land him in the open market.
Originally it was believed that Thomas would command a multi-year deal worth tens of millions, but apparently the Ravens were the team that upped the price at the end. As Thomas tells the Ravens website in a one-on-one interview, he was ready to come to Kansas City on the cheap and reset his market value.
“I thought I was gonna go to Kansas City on, like, a two-year deal, one-year deal. I was just gonna better myself and hit the market again. Then my agents called me, David Mulugheta and Andrew Kessler. I talked to them on the phone and they said, ‘Baltimore has a mega-deal for you.” I said, “Hell yeah! That’s where I’m going.'”
If the Chiefs could have employed Earl Thomas and Tyrann Mathieu in the same secondary, it would have made the loss of Eric Berry much easier. For now, the Chiefs are still searching for secondary help after also losing Steven Nelson in free agency and watching Ronald Darby come and go for a visit without signing him.
Thomas, a nine-year veteran, has 28 career interceptions and is a six-time Pro Bowl safety. He ultimately signed with a four-year contract with the Ravens for a total of up to $55 million.