It's no secret the Dallas Cowboys and Earl Thomas share a mutual interest in one another. Thomas has publicly stated his desire to join America's Team and the Cowboys did their darndest to make that happen last offseason. Nothing ever materialized a year ago, but it's looking as if the stars have finally aligned and a union between the two could merely be just weeks away.
Surprisingly enough, the Dallas Cowboys may have dodged a bullet last year when the Seattle Seahawks refused to part ways with their All-Pro safety. Not only would they have had to surrender a high draft pick, but they would've also had to extend Thomas' contract. Fortunately, timing is everything and now the Cowboys might just have to do the latter.
A potential contract between the Cowboys and Thomas is of course what I want to dive in today. I'm not going to get into numbers right now, because it's nearly impossible to project any kind of contract for any safety this offseason, especially for the former Seahawk, Earl Thomas.

Free Agent FS Earl Thomas (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
Right now, it's a little difficult to know who might have the advantage in contract negotiations, Earl Thomas or the Dallas Cowboys. A lot of times the one that has the leverage, however slight, is the one that gets the better of the deal. As surprising as it may be, the Cowboys might just have the advantage here and I'll tell you why.
First off, this year's market for free agent safeties is pretty stacked with starting caliber players. See below:
- Earl Thomas
- Landon Collins
- Lamarcus Joyner
- Tyrann Mathieu
- Adrian Amos
- Clayton Geathers
- Ha-Ha Clinton Dix
- Glover Quinn
- Tre Boston
- Kenny Vaccaro
- George Iloka
- Jimmie Ward
- Adrian Phillips
Earl Thomas is obviously the headliner here amongst the free agent safeties, but having so many starting caliber players available could drive down Thomas' market value just a bit. This is especially true when you take into consideration the market for FA safeties just a year ago. It was almost a complete standstill last year, with only Kurt Coleman signing a three-year $16.5 million deal with the New Orleans Saints. Not even the "Honey Badger" Tyrann Mathieu could get more than a one-year deal.
With all of these safeties available in free agency, we could be looking at another stingy market. This of course could be good or bad news for the Dallas Cowboys, especially as it pertains to Earl Thomas. Since he is the top FA safety available, everything could once again be at a standstill until he is signed.

Free Agent FS Earl Thomas (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Of course, we all know this will ultimately come down to determining Earl Thomas' market value. There is no denying he is still arguably the best free safety in the game today, but there are concerns about his age (30) and the two lower leg injuries he's sustained in the past three years.
Even with the loaded free agent market of starting caliber safeties and Thomas' age and recent injury history, he's still likely to receive a contract that earns him $10 million annually, give or take. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he gets another four-year deal worth $40 million, $25.7 million guaranteed, with a $9.5 million signing bonus like he signed with the Seahawks back in 2014.
The Cowboys of course would probably find a four-year $40 million deal for Earl Thomas acceptable. They would more than likely frontload the contract with a lot of protection in the details. They have the cap space to make this happen and still be able to sign their own, so money shouldn't be a problem.
Now, whether or not Thomas' market value may dip a little due to all of the above mentioned reasons will be something we will have to wait and find out. Regardless, I'd be a little shocked if Earl Thomas doesn't finish his career with the Dallas Cowboys.
Do you think Earl Thomas' market value will take a little hit this offseason?
Paul Gallagher
September 26, 2018 at 9:00 am
100% accurate. He badly misses at least three wide open guys a game and its not like the other throws are much better. As Parcells liked to say “you are what your record says you are”. Daks numbers are terrible.
Brian Martin
September 26, 2018 at 9:05 am
Paul, I’ve been holding out hope Prescott can improve, but I think I’ve all but given up now.
oneputter
September 26, 2018 at 10:00 am
well he is what he is a 4th rd QB who fell into a good situation with a very nice rookie season.
he is not able to anticipate routes, he expects WR’s to be as open as they were in college, here the windows are so small. he cannot be afraid to make a mistake / int, he needs to trust the WR’s and put the ball in a spot / throw them open. i think he has gotten into throwing the ball with way too much velocity, certain routes i understand that has to happen but not on all throws, plus bad feet / bad base can lead to inaccurate throws, it starts from the ground up, good feet / good foundation.
i feel the routes in this system don’t help him either. there needs to be more crossing routes, short, medium and deep, we just don’t see that here with this inept offense.
i think he needs veteran leadership, he does not have that now. when mark sanchez was here he was always in dak’s ear, i think he needs that. say what you will about sanchez but i feel he got dak playing like he did in his rookie season. this veteran experience goes a long way in the QB room….
Brian Martin
September 26, 2018 at 11:58 am
I think it was more Tony Romo’s influence on Prescott’s rookie season than it was Mark Sanchez. But, I do agree with the point you are making as well as everything else you stated.
oneputter
September 28, 2018 at 10:14 am
in all the games when dak was shown on the SL’s it was mark talking to him, rarely did i see romo over there talking to him. romo lost his job to dak, he was far from wanting to help him.
go back and watch some of those games.
Travis Diggs
September 26, 2018 at 11:13 am
So were done with Prescott just like that?? But we made 12 years of excuses for Romo’s blunders in Seattle, 9-7 after 9-7, and bad play and big games. Don’t act like we didn’t make EVERY excuse in the book for romo. Dak needs to play better but its not just him, how many drops/strips came from wrs and zeke vs seattle, its not all Dak
Brian Martin
September 26, 2018 at 11:55 am
Yes, I’m losing faith in Prescott quickly. I’m beginning to believe he is nothing more than a game manager who has to rely on his mobility to have any kind of offensive productivity. Here we are in Year 3 and he’s still failed to show any improvement in the passing game. His inaccuracy, indecision, and struggles reading defenses are severely hamstringing the Cowboys offense. I don’t know about you, but I expect much more out of my starting QB
Jeff S
September 26, 2018 at 1:44 pm
Sorry, but to anyone that is a fan of the SEC, this is no surprise. Dak has never been accurate, I have NO idea what the boys saw in him and thought wow his accuracy will improve at the next level. As far as QB’s go, I always thought he could make a viable TE in the pro’s if someone gave him a shot. He basically came from the Tim Tebow offense under Mullins which was run first, run second and jump pass if needed. Now in the cowboys defense there was never a play for him to be on the field his first year, maybe Garrett saw a project that he could bring along but if that’s the case, why would you burn a 4th round pick on a project? Good teams can gamble, but the boys haven’t been a good team for a LONG LONG LONG time, unfortunately cuz jurrah still thinks they are contenders.
Jeremy Mileski
October 5, 2018 at 3:35 pm
Good points and totally agree. He needs to go