Earl Thomas is signing a 4-year, $55 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens.
The former Seattle Seahawks safety was the biggest name left on the free agency market when NFL Media's Ian Rapoport broke the news. The deal includes $32 million guaranteed -- a good number for a guy that emphasised protecting his future.
The 29-year-old feared injuries would affect contract negotiations. Thomas has missed 19 games in the last three years, and hasn't played since suffering a leg injury in Week 4 last year.
Thomas was expected to reset the safety market but actually hung around while Landon Collins and Tyrann Mathieu set records with the Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs respectively. Thomas' $13.75 million yearly average is just shy of Collins' $14 million per year record, and was earned through elite pass coverage throughout a 9-year NFL career -- highlighted by a Super Bowl win with the Legion of Boom.
It is a nice deal for a franchise not too far removed from Hall of Famer Ed Reed filling the safety spot. Thomas will bring just as much passion and leadership to the Ravens backfield as he continues to build a resume that could send him to Canton too.
There was a lot of speculation that Thomas would join the Dallas Cowboys, but Jerry Jones' team ultimately had too many of its current player's contracts - superstars Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott and Demarcus Lawrence - to worry about. Instead, Thomas goes to a division where he will no longer battle Antonio Brown but will see Odell Beckham Jr twice a year.
After a poor 2018 market, it looks like all the safeties are getting *paid*.
COVER PHOTO: USA Today
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