Holdout safety Earl Thomas reiterated Thursday he wants to be traded if the Seattle Seahawks aren't willing to offer him a contract extension.
Thomas explained the reasoning behind his ongoing holdout in a long post on The Players' Tribune . Thomas has skipped Seattle's entire offseason program and missed the first week of training camp.
Thomas said his holdout is entirely based around securing his long-term future with his current contract set to expire at the conclusion of the 2018 season.
"One of the reasons I've always played so hard is because I want my actions on the field to be able to speak for me
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Thomas is a three-time first-team All-Pro and was the anchor for the Seattle defense that appeared in consecutive Super Bowls, winning the first. Aside from a broken leg suffered late in the 2016 season, Thomas has been a durable starter from the time he arrived in the league. Thomas has missed just seven regular-season games in his career.
Thomas said he was shaken by the injuries suffered by Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor 鈥?two other members of Seattle's "Legion of Boom" secondary 鈥?in a Thursday night game last season. Sherman ruptured his Achilles tendon, ending his season, and Chancellor suffered a neck injury. Sherman was released by Seattle in the offseason and signed with San Francisco. Chancellor 鈥?while not officially retired 鈥?is not expected to play again because of the neck injury.
"That Thursday night game really cemented in my mind the truth 鈥?which is that your entire life can change on one play. And when it does, no matter what you've accomplished in the past . you can still get cut without even so much as a negotiation," Thomas wrote.
Thomas said he's become frustrated with the insinuation that his holdout means he doesn't want to play in Seattle anymore.
"That's just not true, man. I love Seattle. But I'd hoped I wouldn't even have to say that. I'd hoped that the way I've played for this team over the last eight years would tell you all you need to know," Thomas wrote.
Running back Frank Gore came to Indianapolis with Super Bowl aspirations.
Three years later, he's leaving without a ring or an assurance he'll ever play another football game.
General manager Chris Ballard announced Wednesday the Colts do not intend to re-sign the 34-year-old
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"Frank is at a point where he knows we need to get younger," Ballard said during the first day of the NFL's annual scouting combine in Indianapolis. "And I wanted to give Frank a chance to finish his career where he wants to."
Not much followed the script after Gore opted to reunite with college teammate Andre Johnson with the Colts.
After quarterback Andrew Luck reached three consecutive Pro Bowls and made three straight playoff appearances, taking Indy one step deeper each season, Gore and others thought the Colts were on the verge of a breakout.
Instead, Luck hurt his throwing shoulder three weeks into the 2015 season and everything has gone south.
He has missed 26 of 48 games over the past three seasons, each of which ended with Indy missing the postseason. General manager Ryan Grigson, who signed Gore, was fired following the 2016 season and coach Chuck Pagano was fired in December.
Now, with Luck apparently on the road back to Indy, Gore is on his way out.
Ballard said Luck is expected to return to team headquarters in early April to continue rehabbing.
Getting Luck back in town would be a welcome change for the Colts, who monitored Luck's recovery for the nearly six weeks he spent in Europe and the eight weeks he has spent in California since the end of the season.
"Is it going to help having Andrew back in the building? Absolutely
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He and just about everyone else, though, will miss Gore's leadership and optimism.
Despite playing behind a struggling, ineffective offensive line each season in Indy, he never complained. He simply kept working, talking positive and plugging ahead.
The results were impressive.
After falling 33 yards short of his ninth 1,000-yard season in 2015, he rebounded with 1,025 yards at age 33 in 2016 鈥?making him the oldest 1,000-yard rusher since 35-year-old John Riggins in 1982. Then in December, the ageless Gore had a career-high 36 carries for 130 yards in an overtime loss in a Buffalo blizzard.
He even made passing some of the league's best runners look routine.
Ballard said Gore actually broke his thumb during that Buffalo game and doctors told him they could repair it by inserting a pin. While Gore never hinted publicly he was hurt
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"Frank said 'I'm a football player, I'm playing,'" Ballard said.
Four days later, Gore was back on the field against Denver. Three weeks later, Gore played in his 48th and final game with the Colts 鈥?a 24-carry, 100-yard performance that left him just 76 yards short of passing Curtis Martin for No. 4.
The only other players ahead of Gore are Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton and Barry Sanders.
His nine 1,000-yard seasons are fifth behind Smith (11), Payton, Sanders and Martin (10), and he holds the league record with 12 consecutive seasons with 1,200 yards from scrimmage.
But he was always about more than numbers.
"He's a legend in my mind
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And even though, he still wants a ring, he's not willing to sacrifice his principles to get one.
"I know I still can play, and I know I want to help a team," he said in late December. "I don't want to just be part of a team, I want to help a team, and I don't want anyone to say I rode the bench to get a ring."
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