Ravens Release Earl Thomas; Inside The 'Leading Contender' Cowboys Interest

The Decline Of Earl Thomas Is More About Off-Field Behavior Than On-Field Performance, Which Is Presently The Baltimore Ravens' Problem. But Projecting Forward - Would He Have A 'Sponsor' With The Dallas Cowboys?

FRISCO - For those who know him, it is a sad observation to acknowledge, but Earl Thomas has very rapidly devolved from "the solution'' into "the problem.'' He is suddenly but maybe not permanently the latter for the Baltimore Ravens, who thought a year ago they were adding a team leader and future Hall-of-Famer ... and are now scratching their heads over all the things that have turned sour.

Should the Dallas Cowboys be scratching around here as well?

On Saturday, the Cowboys' feeling was, in a word, one of "trepidation.'' They hadn't spent time on the financial side of the concept of chasing Thomas, should Baltimore part ways with him ... And they have some awareness of the "issues'' that surround him.

Nevertheless, "We are in the acquisition business,'' and all of that.

ESPN's Adam Schefter on Sunday morning reports that the Ravens are going to release Thomas (assuming they can't trade him)  ... and that the Dallas Cowboys are "a leading contender'' for his services.

I'll say that to the people here inside The Star, it's more complicated than that.

Thomas' history of football heroics as a member of the Seattle Seahawks? Legendary stuff, until his money dispute with the club caused him to trot into the home-team locker room at AT&T Stadium, openly flaunting his desire to somehow, someday, join his home-state Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas, of course, flirted with the idea multiple times, starting on NFL Draft Weekend 2018 by making a trade offer to the Seahawks, who declined, saw him sustain a season-ending injury in a game and then flipping off his own bench, and later allowed him to leave via 2019 free agency, when Dallas flirted again ... but had no desire to match the four-year, $55-million deal with $32 million guaranteed given him by the Ravens.

Did it work in 2019 in Baltimore? Seemingly. Though he conflicted with teammates, he did make the Pro Bowl.

Did it work this offseason? Not so much. Thomas’s wife Nina was arrested for pointing a gun at Thomas on the early morning of April 13. Nina had tracked down Thomas at a short-term rental home in Austin, where she found the safety and his brother, Seth, in bed with two women, according to a police affidavit. Thomas told the police he had been “romantically involved” with one of the women in bed for 3-4 months.

Is it working now? Thomas was sent home from training camp this weekend following an altercation with fellow safety Chuck Clark, which started with Clark barking at Thomas for blowing a coverage, turned to near-fisticuffs, and then was accelerated when Thomas posted since-removed video of the play meant to clear his name.

And now he's in job danger, with reports that his fellow locker-room leaders are tired of his presence.

ProFootballTalk.com wrote, "Regardless of the opinions of the other players, Thomas is going nowhere. His 2019 contract includes a fully-guaranteed $10 million salary in 2020, along with $15 million in signing-bonus money that has yet to hit the cap.''

But that's not exactly how this works. As our Sports Illustrated colleague on the Ravens beat, Todd Karpovich, notes, "Thomas is often viewed as an aloof teammate and there has been talk that he has been late or missed meetings this season. If that is true, then the Ravens could build a case that his conduct is detrimental to the team and they could void his contract.''

Baltimore would still have to eat some money, and as Karpovich writes, "The best-case scenario is the two sides can put this incident behind them and get ready for the Browns for the regular-season opener on Sept. 13.''

But that would require Thomas, 31, to make some major alterations in the direction he's headed. And I believe it would take some major alterations for the Cowboys' interest to be rekindled, too.

I chronicled the Cowboys' year-long dance with Thomas with great zeal for a reason: They danced with great zeal. The mutual interest was mighty.

But today?

There are those who care personally about Thomas who believe his erratic behavior suggests he needs help. He's slid from "colorful'' to "controversial'' and while the Cowboys rarely shy from such players with talent - witness the recent high-profile/low-price acquisitions of free-agent D-line stars Aldon Smith and Everson Griffen - it often takes a "sponsor in the building'' to nudge these ideas onto the table.

READ MORE: Dak Says Aldon Smith 'Is A Monster'

READ MORE: Tomsula's 'Fighting' Review Of His Dallas D-Linemen

Smith has new Dallas position coach Jim Tomsula, who was with him in San Francisco. Griffen has new Dallas position coach George Edwards, who was with him in Minnesota. Both gifted guys accepted dirt-cheap deals to start over with the Cowboys.

If Earl Thomas (once a Seahawks protege of top assistant Kris Richard, who's no longer in Dallas) comes free, will he work cheap? Will he get along with new co-workers? Will he accept assistance with his issues? Would his agent David Mulugheta (who is Texas-based and who also reps safety Xavier Woods) be part of a "support system''?

These were not on-the-table issues in Frisco as of Saturday night. Again, there'd been no financially-related in-house talk at all about such a move. ... But Jerry Jones' personnel department's job is to stay on top of everyone and everything.

Dallas' personnel department is on top of this. And 77-year-old Jerry Jones is hungry.

No doubt, from the outside, adding the name "Earl Thomas'' to this roster is alluring. But after a year of behavioral decline that demonstrates a need for help, what Earl Thomas is going to need here inside The Star is ... "a sponsor.''