Let me preface this by saying that punching your teammate is never okay, keep your emotions in check. That being said, is this really the right thing to do? Earl Thomas has had his off the field issues, but this might be something that the Ravens come to regret later. While football isn’t everything and character does matter for your locker room, this is too far. The Baltimore Ravens not letting Earl Thomas try to figure things out with Chuck Clark could cost them a chance at a Super Bowl in the near future.
Earl Thomas Was a Defensive Anchor
When it comes to being a gamechanger at the Safety position, Earl Thomas is it. He often doesn’t get targets due to how devastating he can be. He completely shuts off parts of the field for QBs. With his tackling ability also being pretty good, he’s a lockdown defender. The Baltimore Ravens defense helped them jump to an NFL best 14-2 record after barely winning the division in the 2018. While yes, they got trounced by the Tennessee Titans (with Derrick Henry embarrassing Earl Thomas), getting worse defensively doesn’t help. With how good the Chiefs are and their ability to retain and extend talent, the Ravens needed to get better, and they might’ve taken a hit at a key position on the field.
Poor Run Defense Got Even Worse
This defense is known for being stout, as they were 4th in Football Outsiders’ pass defense calculator. That being said, it can heavily impact the Ravens run defense. The Ravens last season were 20th in run defense, so losing an elite safety will sting. A Strong Safety doesn’t have the same effect as a D-Lineman in terms of stopping the run, but they still defend the run periodically. Not having Earl Thomas there when you go up against Nick Chubb and Kareem Hurt will burn you. They’ll have to face Joe Mixon, Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, and a healthy James Connor for 8 games. That could easily result in losses that could hurt your seeding, or even lose you the division.
Baltimore Ravens Will Get Little For Earl Thomas
Why did the Ravens not just try to get a trade for him? Publicly just cutting him means you as an organization get nothing in return. I’m no football expert but I can at least say that the Ravens could’ve used a nice return for Earl. Had the Baltimore Ravens gotten some help for their D-Line with an Earl Thomas trade, they’d be looking a lot better roster wise.
This team is clearly still an elite squad, but they will be exposed by their division rivals. They’ll probably still win the AFC North but will it be that easy? If Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt get hot can the Ravens guarantee a sweep of the Browns? What if the Browns land Earl Thomas and they now have him paired with Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward? The Ravens have to pray that no one in their division or conference pick him up. This is a tough situation for the Baltimore Ravens, and Earl Thomas might make them pay this year if he plays them.
