Earl Thomas’s comments ‘hard to grasp’ for fans

After Earl Thomas was caught on tape telling Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, “If y’all got the chance to come get me, come get me,” fans have been speculating about the future of the Seahawks safety.

“For anybody that’s been really close to the Seahawks, in doing this job and cutting sound and being around it, I don’t think that really created much of a stir,” Brock Huard said on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Brock & Salk. “But to the paying Seahawks fan, to the one that just bleeds it, to the one who loves it, to the one who is around it, that’s hard for them to grasp.”

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Thomas’s comments might even be borderline offensive to fans, Huard said. But is there any weight behind them?

“The fact that it comes right after he leaves his heart and soul out on the field and helps the Seahawks beat the Cowboys, should at least tell you, Earl knows where his priorities are. I don’t take this as any sort of an insult. I don’t think Earl is trying to shoot his way out of town. I don’t think he’d rather be a Cowboy than a Seahawk,” Mike Salk said. “I do think there’s a fight coming. I do think that Earl’s contract is up at the end of next year. I think Earl wants a lot of money and wants to be probably the highest paid safety in the game again.”

After big extensions given out to Kam Chancellor and Michael Bennett last season, the Seahawks might not be ready to pay Thomas as much he wants. And while Thomas’s comments may have hurt some feelings, Salk said he’s likely just concerned about his next contract.

“I’m sure he’s very much worried about the idea of being kicked to the curb and what it means in this case is just not getting re-signed at the money he wants to be re-signed at,” Salk said.

“Eight years in, is Earl still in his prime?” Huard added. “That is going to be a debate in this building.”