OWINGS MILLS, Md. The Baltimore Ravens abruptly part ways with seven-time Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas, two days after beating fellow safety Chuck Clark, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday.
Thomas, 31, was sent home Friday and has not returned to the Ravens facility since his location with Clark on the field. This was the second foul exchange with a teammate for Thomas, who faced the nose tackle Brandon Williams after a loss to Cleveland 11 months ago. Thomas also missed as he was late at several meetings through his 17 months in Baltimore, a source added.
The Ravens will release Thomas for conduct that is harmful to the team if trafficked, sources said. The Dallas Cowboys are the leading candidate to sign him when he is released, per sources.
The Ravens wanted to split so badly from Thomas that they were willing to take a big financial hit and move forward without a proven replacement for him. They will take a $ 15 million salary hit for releasing or trading him, unless they are able to cancel his $ 10 million guaranteed salary this season for behavior that harms the team. If the Ravens can avoid paying the guaranteed money, Thomas will count $ 5 million against the cap this season and $ 10 million next year.
Without Thomas, the Ravens are unexperienced in free security. DeShon Elliott, a pick in the sixth round of 2018, is expected to step in for Thomas for now. The Ravens love his aggressiveness and upside, but Elliott is limited to six games in two NFL seasons due to injuries.
This marks the second tumultuous divorce for Thomas. His nine years in Seattle ended with him turning from a middle finger to Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, while being sidelined with a leg injury. A little over a year and a half ago, the Ravens were praised for luring Thomas out of his verbal agreement with the Kansas City Chiefs and signing him on a four-year deal, $ 55 million, the biggest night to a defensive player in franchise history.
Thomas reached the Pro Bowl in his first and only season in Baltimore, but he sometimes struggled mightily. He gave up on an 88-yard touchdown by the Cleveland Browns that put Nick Chubb back in Week 4 and then got stiffly armed by the Tennessee Titans who put Derrick Henry back in the playoffs.
The break point came Friday in the training of the fourth training camp of the year. After Thomas blew a cover, Clark angrily wrote on his helmet and threw it angrily on the ground. Thomas then beat Clark, a source said. Both players were separated by teammates and coaches. It’s unusual for two players to fight in the same position group.
That allowed Baltimore to move on from one of its biggest stars three weeks before the start of the regular season.
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