Seahawks Insider: Earl Thomas encouraged by Kam Chancellor deal

Earl Thomas was happy for Kam Chancellor when he signed his three-year contract extension with the Seahawks earlier this week.

They’ve been together since they were rookies, after all, and this will be their seventh season starting alongside one another.

But football is a business, and Chancellor was a test case for what Seattle is going to do as the nucleus of this defense ages. Next year, it will be Thomas who is entering the final year of his contract, which made him an interested observer in the team’s approach to Chancellor this year.

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“I was watching very closely,” Thomas said. “You want to see because I feel we’re all right around the same age. They’re bringing a lot of new guys in.”

Thomas turned 28 in May and has two years remaining on the contract he signed after Seattle won the Super Bowl. Cornerback Richard Sherman turned 29 in March, and like Thomas he has two years remaining on his current deal.

When the team spent four draft picks on defensive backs this year, many thought the Seahawks were planning for a future beyond the Legion of Boom.

“If the writing’s on the wall, I want to be able to see it,” Thomas said, “because I know I’ll be next.”

Instead, Chancellor’s extension shows that Thomas may be next in line for a contract extension next year.

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