The entire reason Earl Thomas wasn't practicing with the Seahawks during the week was to avoid exactly what happened Sunday in Arizona: A serious injury that promptly ended his chances for a long-term deal. The 29-year-old Pro Bowl safety fractured his leg on a Cardinals fourth-quarter touchdown and left the field on a cart. On his way off the field, he gave the Seahawks' sideline the one-finger salute.

While never explicitly stated, it's not hard to figure out who Thomas was directing his frustrations toward; the organization refused to renegotiate his current contract, which means that not only is his 2018 season over (Thomas has already been placed on injured reserve) but his future is now in doubt.

Still, Seattle coach Pete Carroll wasn't willing to guess where Thomas was "pointing."

"I don't know," he told reporters after the game. "Somebody said something about that. I don't know anything about that. It's a big stadium. I don't know where it was aimed at. Earl was extraordinarily poised on the field for what just occurred. To be so clear and so resolved, he knew what happened but he was poised in giving back to the players and all of us. So I don't know what happened after that." 

Interestingly, the day started with CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reporting that the Steelers were open to trading Le'Veon Bell to the Seahawks for Thomas. More than 12 hours later, Thomas was the NFL's latest injury victim and Bell, safely on his couch, took to social media his support for the Seahawks safety.

Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner said after the game of Thomas' conundrum, "If he doesn't come, then he's not a team player. If he does come and gets hurt, then it's 'he shouldn't have came.' ... If i was him I'd be pissed off."

In the comments on the ESPN Instagram post, Bell responded: "smh exactly...get right bro bro @earl ! I'll continue to be the 'bad guy' for ALL of us."

Bell has missed the Steelers' first four games while he holds out for a long-term contract. And while he refers to himself as the "bad guy," the issue isn't that he wants to be paid what he feels he's worth, it's that his teammates were apparently blindsided by his decision to skip the regular-season opener (and the subsequent three games). Either way, Thomas' injury is a stark reminder that Bell has a case for passing up $855,000 a week to preserve his body. It's still unclear if any team will give him north of $15 million annually but there's no disputing that the Steelers miss him badly; they ran the ball just 10 times for 20 yards in Sunday night's loss to the Ravens.

Meanwhile, Thomas, who last offseason was reportedly looking for more than $11 million annually on his next contract, will become a free agent in the spring.