Earl Thomas has made it abundantly clear over the course of his career that he'd like to play for the Dallas Cowboys. The Pro Bowl safety famously told the team to "come get me" as his run with the Seattle Seahawks came to a close, but that lobbying never resulted in Thomas ending up in Arlington. Fast-forward to the present day, talk about Thomas landing in Dallas sprouted up yet again as the dominos to his eventual divorce with the Baltimore Ravens started to fall. Now, history may be repeating itself as Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that the Cowboys are not expected to be among the teams vying for Thomas' services.
Despite that report, Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones kept the door ajar on the possibility of bringing Thomas aboard, telling 105.3 The Fan that he hasn't visited with him yet, but that would be the next step. He also noted that the team is "evaluating where we are on the roster." Head coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged on Monday that he did discuss Thomas with Will McClay, Dallas' vice president of player personnel, but in the same breath noted that the club is "very confident" in where they are with their current roster.
As CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reports, Thomas wasn't able to fit inside the Ravens locker room. While the altercation with fellow safety Chuck Clark at practice last week was the straw that broke the camel's back to his time in Baltimore, a source told La Canfora "it was really bad" even before that incident. The source also noted that the safety was "easily the most disliked guy in that locker room."
When asked on Monday how much he factors in how a potential acquisition will fit into the locker room, McCarthy said, "Everything is looked at, but at the end of the day, the main question you have to ask is, 'How does a player fit in your locker room?'"Considering Thomas' track record, that could have been a factor in Dallas deciding to pass on him this time around.
McCarthy also noted that he likes what he sees from the Cowboys current crop of safeties, specifically veteran Xavier Woods, who is slated to start this season. The team also boasts Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (who McCarthy coached in Green Bay), Darian Thompson and rookie Luther Kirk.
