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Baltimore Ravens: Pros and cons of trading Earl Thomas

By Chris Schisler

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 20: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks and Earl Thomas #29 of the Baltimore Ravens exchange jerseys after the game at CenturyLink Field on October 20, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. The Baltimore Ravens top the Seattle Seahawks 30-16. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 20: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks and Earl Thomas #29 of the Baltimore Ravens exchange jerseys after the game at CenturyLink Field on October 20, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. The Baltimore Ravens top the Seattle Seahawks 30-16. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /
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ORLANDO, FLORIDA – JANUARY 26: Earl Thomas #29 of the Baltimore Ravens in action during the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl at Camping World Stadium on January 26, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – JANUARY 26: Earl Thomas #29 of the Baltimore Ravens in action during the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl at Camping World Stadium on January 26, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

The Cons:

The Ravens would be trading away a player who is great at what he does. There is no argument that can be had without at least acknowledging that parting with Thomas is parting with the only player that offers the full list of services as an elite free safety. The Ravens would be getting rid of a player that takes away deep shots from opposing quarterbacks all the time. Trading away a seven time Pro Bowl safety who is also a three time All-Pro is a bold move. It’s an extreme move to take over what was essentially just a fist fight in training camp. It’s hot. Practice isn’t always fun and being part of a team doesn’t always have to mean getting along with everybody. Trading Thomas would be an extreme measure and it would take away from the Ravens’ greatest strength.

The Ravens have Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, Jimmy Smith and Tavon Young. They have a secondary that’s pretty invincible. That’s one of the reasons the Ravens are Super Bowl contenders, it’s not just because Lamar Jackson is the MVP. Do the Ravens have enough secondary talent to get by? We think so, but we also don’t know that for sure. Starting Elliott in Thomas’s place is a bold move. I mean Elliott doesn’t have much experience and he has an injury history. That’s a tough leg to stand on if that’s the argument for getting rid of Thomas. It’s hard not to love the skill set that Elliott has, but that’s a lot of trust to put in him on such a small sample size.

Yes, freeing up the cap space could help the Ravens make other moves. That’s stealing from Peter to pay Paul though. That’s exactly what it is. You’re talking about taking a star, which is exactly what Thomas is, away from the secondary. You’re going with an unproven commodity and you are only as strong as your weakest link. That’s what your proposing the Ravens do by trading Thomas. So think long and hard about this. Thomas doesn’t have to be a favorite of yours for you to understand his value to the team. That’s not how it works in the real world.

Top 10 defensive backs in Ravens history. dark. Next

This is why I keep coming back to one salient point. Trading Thomas isn’t the best option, it’s a last resort measure. Trading Thomas can hypothetically work out. It does cause a problem though. It can’t be ignored that the Ravens would be chipping away at what makes the defense so promising in the first place. We’ll see what happens but these are the reasons for and against the trade. What would you do?

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